By BENNETT HALL
For the Democrat-Herald | Posted: Tuesday, February 26, 2008 12:00 am
Regal Entertainment Group agrees to donate shuttered building
The Friends of the Whiteside have their theater.
Regal Entertainment Group has agreed to donate the Whiteside Theatre to the organization, which fought to preserve the historic downtown movie house from redevelopment as a restaurant and retail complex.
"We are honored to have an opportunity to contribute this property to the citizens of Corvallis, who have long supported our theater business in the community," Regal President and CEO Michael L. Campbell said in a statement announcing the gift.
Regal closed the 960-seat theater in January 2002, citing declining ticket sales and a backlog of maintenance issues that included a broken sewer pipe.
Since then, several groups have attempted to purchase the theater, but each time the deal fell through.
The latest acquisition effort was abandoned after the Friends of the Whiteside blocked a redevelopment proposal for the theater at the state Land Use Board of Appeals.
The organization plans to restore the 86-year-old picture palace for use as a venue for concerts and other live performances as well as meetings, special events and second-run movies. A restrictive covenant in the deed prohibits the showing of first-run movies to keep the Whiteside from competing with Regal's four-screen cineplex on Northwest Ninth Street.
Susan Morre, a spokeswoman for the Friends of the Whiteside, said the group would begin fundraising shortly for the restoration of the theater. The cost of that project has been estimated at $1 million to $1.5 million.
"We're thrilled," Morre said of the donation. "We're just thrilled."
Bennett Hall can be reached at 758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net.