Movie Theater Coming to Bull Street Development

Seats at a Cobb Theatres movie theater

Cobb Theatres, an Alabama-based chain that had planned to open a 10-screen luxury movie theater at the Commons at BullStreet, has pulled out of the Columbia project.

Cobb Theatres Chief Operating Officer Frank Stryjewski confirmed the chain's Bull Street exit on Wednesday morning.

"We've terminated our lease," Stryjewski said. "Our reasons are really quite simple. The parking contingency that was to be met in a certain time period by the developer was not met. Although they may eventually get there, the timing of the deal, for us, really changed strategically what we decided to do."

Commons at BullStreet project manager Robert Hughes told Free Times on Wednesday that he has been aware for some time of Cobb's intentions to exit the project.

"We're excited about the opportunity to replace them," the project manager said. "It's creating a good opportunity for us. ... I know we are not worried about Cobb being out, nor is the retail developer worried about Cobb being out."

The lead retail developer for the Commons at BullStreet project is Hughes Commercial Properties' Jackson Hughes, first cousin of master developer Bob Hughes.

Robert Hughes says any retail announcements for the Bull Street project, including any prospective announcement from a theater chain that would fill the void left by Cobb, would likely come directly from the retailers.

Free Times asked the project manager directly whether there were still plans for a movie theater at Bull Street.

"There is still a movie theater on the plan," Hughes said. "The architects are full speed ahead drawing and working on their submissions to the city."

Initially announced in July 2016, the Cobb Theatres cinema was to have had 10 screens and reserved electric reclining seats, a self-serve concession area, and a restaurant and bar. It was to have opened in summer 2018. Cobb has locations Florida, Alabama, Ohio, North Carolina, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland and Virginia.

Bob Hughes has long been planning the Commons at BullStreet project. A key piece of the project — the mostly publicly funded Spirit Communications Park minor league baseball stadium — opened last summer to good reviews and attendance. However, the rest of the project — which is to eventually include restaurants, shops, apartments and more — is still in the planning and negotiation phase, with few announcements so far.

The two biggest announcements connected to the site so far — the stadium and the University of South Carolina's planned medical school campus — are both largely publicly funded initiatives. Developers said more than two years ago that more than 40 retail establishments were committed to the site, but formal announcements of those retailers have not come. The pace of the project is beginning to make some people antsy.

Robert Hughes said Wednesday that putting together a project the size of the Commons at BullStreet is a yearslong affair.

"BullStreet, we've said from the beginning, is still a 20-year project," Hughes said. "We are substantially ahead of our development benchmarks in our agreement with the city. ... These project take a long time and there are ups and downs in every development project. But we are still optimistic. The one message that I don't know if we have relayed clearly enough is that these projects take a long time to come together. If you want them done right and want to fulfill the vision that we've promised to fulfill, it's going to take a long time."

The most recent announcement for the Bull Street site came in January, when TCube Solutions, a software firm, said it would bring 100 new jobs and a $1.7 million investment to the First Base Building alongside Spirit Communications Park.

Similar Stories