Austin-Based Theater Chain Expands its Major Market Footprint into Los Angeles' Premier Urban Destination
The Ratkovich Company, in partnership with National Real Estate Advisors, and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema today announced the Alamo Drafthouse will open its first Los Angeles, California theater at The Bloc, a 1.8 million square foot mixed use destination at the hub of the city's retail, entertainment, financial, and sports center. The Alamo Drafthouse Downtown is slated to open in 2015 as The Bloc completes its $180 million renovations and opens its doors as a vibrant, open-air, pedestrian-friendly, urban destination.
"We've been eyeing Los Angeles for many years now," said CEO and founder Tim League. "With The Bloc, we finally found the perfect location and partner to bring our brand of cinema to the birthplace of the industry."
Alamo Drafthouse provides a unique combination of theater and restaurant, showing first-run and independent films and special programming events with an extensive menu made from scratch in a state-of-the-art culinary kitchen. The Alamo Drafthouse Downtown will be located in the southwest corner of The Bloc next to Macy's third floor.
"Alamo Drafthouse has re-invigorated the movie-watching experience, much the way we intend to reimagine the traditional retail and entertainment experience and enliven the 7th Street corridor with The Bloc," said Wayne Ratkovich, founder and president of The Ratkovich Company. "We want Angelenos to come to The Bloc for distinctive, curated experiences and Alamo Drafthouse provides just that."
Alamo Drafthouse Downtown will have nine screens and seat approximately 800 people for new release movies, independent, foreign and classic films, as well as an exhaustive slate of the Alamo's unique signature event programming. Each of the auditoriums will be equipped with state of the art 4K digital projection, big screens and amazing sound. In addition to providing superior presentation, the Alamo eliminates the traditional front rows to ensure there's no bad seat in the house. The theater will also be equipped for 3D and archival 35mm projection.
In keeping with the Alamo's commitment to providing the best in-theater dining experience, the downtown LA destination will feature locally inspired and sourced food and drink. Moviegoers can order food and drinks from their seats while servers silently attend to them throughout the film. The Alamo will also be opening an adjacent craft beer bar featuring an extensive array of Californian beers.
Accessibility and integration with the city at large continues to be a priority for The Bloc and the Alamo Drafthouse. The Alamo Drafthuose Downtown will be conveniently accessed without needing to go above ground via the Blue, Expo, Purple and Red lines at the 7th Avenue Metro stop. Future Metro expansion will connect the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown to Santa Monica, Pasadena and the San Bernandino Valley. The theater will offer four hours of free validated parking as well as free bicycle valet.
Due to a lackluster summer at the box office, the motion picture industry is down 7% year to date.Forthe same period, Alamo Drafthouse same store sales are up 2.64%. By focusing on great film, food and drinks along with exceptional presentation, a no-advertisement policy and a notoriously strict no talking/no texting policy, the Alamo Drafthouse strives to be the movie theater by movie fans for movie fans.
The theaters have been heralded for their unique programming events and high exhibition standards, earning accolades like "Best Theater Ever" (Time Magazine).
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About Alamo Drafthouse
Tim and Karrie League founded Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in 1997 as a single-screen mom and pop repertory theater in Austin. 17 years later, the now 19-location chain has been named "the best theater in America" by Entertainment Weekly and "the best theater in the world" by Wired.com. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has built a reputation as a movie lover's oasis not only by combining food and drink service with the movie-going experience, but also introducing unique programming and high-profile, star studded special events. Alamo Drafthouse Founder & CEO, Tim League, created Fantastic Fest, a world renowned film festival dubbed "The Geek Telluride" by Variety. Fantastic Fest showcases eight days of genre cinema from independents, international filmmakers and major Hollywood studios. The Alamo Drafthouse's collectible art gallery, Mondo, offers breathtaking, original products featuring designs from world-famous artists based on licenses for popular TV and Movie properties including Star Wars, Star Trek & Universal Monsters. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is expanding its brand in new and exciting ways, including Drafthouse Films which has garnered two Academy Award nominations in its short three year existence and Badass Digest, an entertainment news blog curated by veteran journalist Devin Faraci.
About The Bloc
A marquee property at the heart of downtown Los Angeles, upon completion, The Bloc will bring Angelenos together in a vibrant, open-air, pedestrian-friendly, urban center. Acquired by The Ratkovich Company in June 2013, The Bloc inhabits a full city block and is undergoing $180 million in renovations to provide a curated experience of unique boutiques, premier retailers and restaurants. Originally built in 1973 by architect Charles Luckman, the development will be the single largest mixed-use property in Los Angeles where consumers can work, sleep, shop and eat. It is anchored by Macy's, the Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown Hotel, and a 750,000 square foot luxury office tower. The Bloc will be LEED certified and will be the first Delos WELL Building Project in Los Angeles. Construction began in the first quarter of 2014 and is anticipated to be completed by the third quarter of 2015. For more information, please visit www.theblocla.com or follow us at https://twitter.com/TheBlocLA.
About National Real Estate Advisors
National Real Estate Advisors has $2 billion+ in assets under management for pension plan sponsors, investing in major U.S. urban markets using a build-to-core strategy. The company undertakes large-scale development and redevelopment projects in its open-end fund and separate account, building investment portfolios of stabilized modern property assets-apartment, office, mixed-use, industrial, data centers and hotels-with design features, technological enhancements, and amenities that can drive high tenant demand and create value over time. An SEC registered advisor, the firm is a subsidiary of the National Electrical Benefit Fund, a $12 billion pension plan sponsor. For more information visit, www.natadvisors.com.
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