CineLux Scotts Valley Cinema might soon have the most movie screens in the county, if the owners of King’s Village Shopping Center carry out a plan to expand the theater from six to 10 screens with stadium-style seating and a wine bar.
Paul Gunsky, president of San Jose-based CineLux Theatres, said all 10 auditoriums will have digital projection and sound. He said there will be about 1,500 seats total. Currently, Scotts Valley has 1,065 seats. Gunsky also plans to add oversized leather seats, a wine bar and an updated exterior and concession area.
Cinema 9 in downtown Santa Cruz is the largest theater in the county with nine screens and 1,909 seats.
“We’re going to make it really modern and state of the art,” Gunsky said. “By the time we’re done with it, it will certainly be a theater the community deserves.”
Construction is expected to take four to six months, but the start date will depend on city approval, Gunsky said. He said the application will likely go to Scotts Valley’s planning department in about three weeks.
“The theater will remain open during construction,” Gunsky said.
Benjamin Ow, whose family owns and manages the shopping center, said he expects the upgrades to make CineLux the premier theater in the county. His father started the original two-screen theater in Scotts Valley 40 years ago, he said.
“There’s going to be a greater variety of movies and time slots, which is definitely going to be one of the major benefits.” Ow said.
Ow said construction work alone will cost more than $1 million, and the added technological infrastructure will cost about the same.
Gunsky said the Ow family will front the money for the expansion, which will be paid back over time by CineLux.
The expansion will create four new auditoriums next to the existing theater in two storefronts left empty by Kid’s Art, which moved to the front of the shopping center, and Nunu’s, which changed to a mobile service, Painting on the Go.
Gunsky, who bought Scotts Valley Cinema and the 41st Avenue Playhouse in Capitola about a year ago, said he started with smaller projects, such as cosmetic upgrades, before the full vision evolved. CineLux owns seven theaters throughout the Bay Area.
“The project is similar to an expansion we did in Morgan Hill, where we went from six screens to 11,” Gunsky said. “The remodel is being done by the same group that did that project.”
Gunsky said the Scotts Valley theater will be the first remodel with a bar to serve wine and beer.
Exterior upgrades include art deco towers with neon lights that will be visible from a distance, Gunsky said.
“It’s going to be a hotspot,” Gunsky said. “It’ll be a great place for residents to be able to stay in town and be entertained.”
