Business & Tech
Warehouse Proposed For Demolished Worcester Movie Theater Site
Showcase Cinemas, Worcester's only movie theater, was demolished in the spring after closing during the pandemic.
WORCESTER, MA — The site of a now-demolished Worcester movie theater may soon be home to a large warehouse development.
A New York-based developer is seeking permission from the Worcester Planning Board to use the 750,000 square-foot former Showcase Cinemas site along Brooks Street to build a 150,000 square-foot warehouse.
The developer, Criterion Group, purchased the Showcase Cinemas site in 2021. The company also owns the Primetals facility along Crescent Street, and 140 Goddard Memorial Drive, a Worcester State University parking lot adjacent to Amazon and TJ Maxx distribution facilities.
Find out what's happening in Worcesterfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Criterion's application for the Showcase redevelopment does not name a tenant. The plans do call for 146 parking spaces for tractor trailers and 173 vehicle parking spaces.
The former Showcase Cinemas in Worcester closed in June 2020 and never reopened. It was the last movie theater in Worcester, and its closure left the city without any regularly operating cinema — an anomaly among cities with more than 200,000 residents in the U.S.
Find out what's happening in Worcesterfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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