12-screen movie theater planned for Hesperia

HESPERIA • With a county government complex and city police station nearly completed, downtown Hesperia will soon get another anchor to its civic center: a 12-screen movie theater.

The 36,000-square-foot theater complex will be built on city-owned land just west of Civic Center Park at the southeast corner Smoketree Street and Ninth Avenue. The complex will feature state-of-the-art, digital technology with stadium-style seating.

Construction for the project will begin in 2011 with completion set for the summer of 2012, according to Steven Lantsberger, deputy director of economic development.

“Tonight I’m here to bring hopefully some good economic news to the community and some glimmer of hope for the downtown project here,” Lantsberger said to open his presentation Tuesday night. “This will build on the momentum we’ve created for our civic plaza.”

The agreement, which was unanimously approved by council members, calls for a 10-year exclusivity period to allow Cinema West to develop a customer base.

“We’ve come to a recommendation of a 10-year exclusivity period to provide safeguards to establish a foothold in this community,” Lantsberger said.

According to Lantsberger, the project will create 40 new jobs, provide $227,486 in developer fees and generate an estimated $8,370 in annual sales tax and $32,882 in property tax.

To read more from the City of Hesperia, see the full story in Thursday's Daily Press. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.