Railyard Cinema Plans Slowly Moving Forward

Good news for downtown movie goers, or those just tired of seeing a gaping hole next to Flying Star. Officials with the Santa Fe Railyard Community Corporation, the entity that manages the Santa Fe Railyard, say they expect to have a cinema developer on board by January.

SFRCC director Richard Czoski said things are moving along better than expected and “we have so much more interest than we had last summer that it will take us longer” than expected to select a developer.

Czoski said SFRCC is talking with more than four interested groups, but declined to provide details. SFRCC hopes to have a letter of intent by January 2013, he said.

The Railyard’s cinema project has long been stalled. One big reason has been the inability of developer Railyard Co., owner of the Railyard’s Market Station commercial complex, to finish either its building or the theater next door.

The city of Santa Fe took back the cinema parcel earlier this year as part of a settlement deal with Railyard Co.

SFRCC has been talking with various potential developers for well over a year, but Czoski has previously said it could be a long time before a cinema is up and running.