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Looking back at 2001
12.28.2001 10:40
Catching up with . . . Park Cinema


CRANSTON -- The Park Cinema is still for sale after renovation plans stalled last fall, dampening local residents' hopes of seeing the landmark theater open soon.

However, the Realtor marketing the property said the theater, built in 1924, is generating a lot of interest from theatrical, music and other artistic groups. And he is optimistic that the building has a future in the arts.

"It has attracted a lot of attention -- I must show it at least two or three times a week," Michael Kern, executive vice president of Scotti & Associates real estate said this week. "It might not be a movie house again, but it will be in the arts arena."

He said the reincarnation of the building might be a combination of theatrical uses, with orchestral concerts offered some nights and films offered on other nights.

The asking price is $900,000; Kern said that includes not only the theater, at Park and Pontiac Avenues, but also an adjacent block of Park Avenue stores. He estimated that the property represents a total of about 15,000 square feet of commercial space.

The building is across from City Hall, and city officials are very interested neighbors -- doing what they can to see new life come to the property that anchors one end of the Rolfe Street business district.

Lori Adamo, Cranston's director of economic development, said the city is ready and willing to work with anyone who is interested in bringing arts and culture back to the Park Cinema building. She said that the city can help in may ways, including low-interest loans or grants.

She said the city also has small-business programs that could help fill the adjacent shops.

Adamo noted that most City Hall offices look out on the building. "And," she said, "that's about the best neighbor you can get."
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