Capital 8 Theaters in Jefferson City may soon become Capital 9, with plans for a multi-million dollar expansion in the developmental stage.
Goodrich Quality Theaters regional manager Heath Thomas said the theater is working with Capital Mall, the property owners, and the City of Jefferson in order to start the project as soon as possible. A preliminary PUD (Planned Unit Development) Plan application has been filed with the City and will be discussed at Thursday's Planning and Zoning Commission meeting.
Proposed construction includes adding a "giant" ninth screen to the theater, and renovating the existing eight theaters into stadium-style seating. Renovations to the lobby, concessions and box office are also planned. Thomas said the changes will bring Capital 8 up to today's movie theater standards.
An 8,253 square-foot addition to the 3550 Country Club Drive property would make room for a ninth theater, set to house a GDX or Giant Digital Experience, 65-foot screen with Atmos sound.
"It's state-of-art sound," Thomas said of the "cutting-edge" channel-driven system that is meant to follow the movie-goer throughout the room. The new theater will also include 450 seats.
Goodrich hopes to retrofit the existing theaters with stadium-style seating, which will bring the existing number of seats down from 1,483 to 985, according to the proposed plans
"In the grand scheme of things, we'll end up being about the same amount of seats," Thomas said of switching to sloped flooring.
Because the theater will not gain seating, no changes are proposed to the parking lot.
The addition would utilize an existing piece of land to the south of the building, and will not require cutting down many, if any trees, Thomas said.
"We're excited to be able to do this and want to get moving as soon as possible." The plans hinge on approval from the city as well as agreements on funding. The project will cost in the millions of dollars, Thomas said. "Millions, with an s."
Once construction begins, Thomas anticipates nine months of building and retrofitting. He said the theater will remain open during the construction period; however, parts of the building may be inaccessible at times.
Other small changes will be made to the theater's exterior, including new signage and LED lighting.