A man walks past the former Novato Theater on Grant Avenue in Novato, California, on Friday, January 10, 2020. Efforts to restore the movie theater have been ongoing for years. (Alan Depp/Marine Independent Journal)
It’s finally “The End,” with hope that the long-closed Novato Theater will once again light up Novato’s Old Town.
The city’s intent to invest more than $1 million is paying off with $229,000 in return and the promise that empty space on Grant Avenue will be filled with cafes and housing.
That’s not a huge return for a city on a tight budget.
The county also put up $300,000.
Both governments financially supported efforts to reopen the movie theater, a downtown staple since it opened in 1945.
In 1991, the theater closed and the city purchased the property as part of its downtown redevelopment efforts.
The reopened theater was to become one of the visual and economic anchors, one of the attractions, of the newly developed Old Town.
More than 30 years later, and after several citizen-led efforts to raise the funds needed to restore and reopen the theater, the property was sold to a developer. The developer plans to build a cafe with offices and two apartments on the ground floor. The proposal is in keeping with the mix of commercial and residential developments that line the historic downtown.
At least the notable boarded-up gap on Grant’s north side will be filled.
The sad outcome is that success falls short of expectations and all hope, effort, and investment are wasted. Optimism that theaters will be able to reopen (and the projectors can be switched back on) is due to a larger project that would require demolition to rebuild the theater to modern building and safety standards. It sank to
It was the hope of community leaders and donors that Novato would succeed in the revitalization of shuttered downtown theaters in San Rafael and Larkspur.
But costs grew faster than donations.
At the same time, the economics of the movie industry have changed significantly, with cable, streaming, and home theaters becoming key competition for ticket purchases to see movies on bigger screens.
In retrospect, there is no question that it may have been wise for the city government not to become the financial entity for the project.
But at each step there was confidence in the promise. Additionally, because the city owned the building and had committed to using it as a theater, continued city investment was needed to move the plan through to completion.
That never happened.
The city’s investment built a stronger foundation with power conduits in preparation for the new theater, modeled after the 1945 version.
Much of that work ends up reducing the property’s real estate value and must be demolished to accommodate new development.
The plot was bumpy.
But the gap in the Grant River will be filled by the cafe, which should draw people to Old Town. Another plus is that you’ll also get much-needed housing.
While this is progress, it falls short of what many Novato residents had hoped for.
