Apple Valley movie theater donated to town after AMC decides not to renew lease

APPLE VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- Four months after a 14-auditorium movie theater in Apple Valley closed its doors when AMC decided not to renew its lease, officials are already talking about what will take its place.

It's a process made much easier - and less expensive - because the building's owner decided to donate it to the town.

"I don't know if we've ever heard or talked with somebody who donated something like this," said Mayor Scott Nassif. "It's tremendous. We can't thank them enough, and the community is very grateful and excited. It's a unique opportunity for us."

Shuttered, abandoned movie theaters are not an uncommon sight in the era of streaming video. Nassif said COVID didn't help either.

"I think ultimately what impacted the theater and retail business was the pandemic," he said. "The last couple years, when people just couldn't get out and intermingle and socialize as much as they used to, I think that had an effect."

But why simply give away an asset with an estimated value of $3 million? Nassif said it makes sense for the owner in at least two ways.

First, finding a buyer for a 55,000-square-foot, 14-auditorium building would have been difficult and time consuming, in large part because of the unique layout of a movie theater.

Secondly, the owner can potentially write off the entire donation.

Nassif said the town of Apple Valley is actively seeking input from the public as to how best to use the space.

"We've had a lot of interest from not just the people of Apple Valley, but the whole high desert, and even outside the area, we've had a tremendous amount of folks looking to see what they can do with this type of facility," he said.

They're even allowing high school students to tour the facility and provide their own input. About a dozen students from the Academy for Academic Excellence recently visited the facility.

"A lot of us really agreed [that] using it as some kind of performing arts center, or an entertainment place for the younger generation," said student C.J. Jeffs, who hopes the facility, where she celebrated her 16th birthday, will be in use again soon.

"I watched 'Sixteen Candles' in a rented theater here with all my friends and family, and that was a really good time," she said.

Another student hopes the facility can be used for a science center or history museum.

"I think our closest science center is either the science museum or the Discovery Cube, and that's like maybe an hour or hour and a half away," said Kyriacos Phillipou. "Giving it to the city is really nice because you can have discussions of what to actually do with it, rather than making it into a random thing that nobody wants."

The town of Apple Valley is hosting a listening session at the movie theater on Thursday, Sept. 28, from 6 - 8 p.m. to solicit public opinion on what to do with the facility.