The final credits are set to roll at SilverCity Windsor.
Cineplex has confirmed it is not renewing its lease for its SilverCity location at the corner of Walker Road and Provincial Road.
According to a statement provided to AM800 News, the company says "this type of decision is not taken lightly but recalibration within a market is part of our ongoing strategic analysis of our theatre performance and is unrelated to our temporary closures in Ontario or COVID-19 and its impact on our business."
The statement goes on to say, "based on pre-pandemic attendance levels, it was clear that movie-lovers in Windsor were gravitating towards the newer amenities at our nearby Cineplex Odeon Devonshire Mall Cinemas location."
The property is owned by Mikhail Holdings, which is now exploring other options for the site which includes reaching out WalMart and Calgary-based Landmark Cinema of Canada Inc. which operates 45 theatres with 317 screens.
Joe Mikhail, Director of Mikhail Holdings, says Famous Players was the first building to go up on Walker Road and was the beginning of commercial development in that area of the city, creating the seed for other stores and restaurants.
Mikhail says it saddens them to see something that significant will disappear from our landscape.
"The building to us is an iconic building and even though it may not seem historical to most people, it is historical in a way that it was a landmark building at that time," he says.
Fans wait for the first game of the 2019 NBA Finals between the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors to begin at Windsor's Silver City on Walker Rd. on Thursday May 30, 2019. (Photo by AM800's Gord Bacon)
Mikhail says if people want this theatre to survive, they need to raise their voices.
"Talk to Cineplex or talk to Landmark {Cinema}. Landmark is the second largest theatre chain in Canada. Let them know we haven't been coming to the movies because of COVID. We'd like to come back to the movies and we will come back to the movies," he says.
Unless something is found, Mikhail says they will have to bring the 25-year-old building down for financial reasons.
"The taxes and operating costs on a vacant building of that magnitude makes it extremely difficult for anybody to leave as is," he adds.
Cineplex says its lease for the Walker Road location expires at the end of the year.
On Jan. 5, Cineplex announced nearly 5,000 part-time employees at its movie theatre and entertainment venues in Ontario would be temporarily laid-off due to COVID-19 restrictions on capacity limits.