New Owner Won't Sell Historic Madison Movie Theater To Borough

MADISON, NJ — Madison Borough's bid to buy the historic downtown movie theater was rejected by its new owner, but not all hope is lost for the Madison icon.

New owner Saxum Real Estate is reportedly in talks to lease the space to another theater company, Borough Administrator Ray Codey said at Monday's council meeting. Codey said he was unable to name the potential new occupant for the theater.

The four-screen theater was sold in February for $1.7 million to Parsippany-based Saxum Real Estate, and the company said at the time it would continue to show movies, as Patch reported. The space was leased at below-market rent with a subsidy to Bow Tie Cinemas.

It was the borough's only movie theater, and averaged 12 customers per showing at the time of its sudden Memorial Day closing, Codey said. The Summit Bow Tie theater also closed around the same time, citing a similarly low attendance.

Requests to Bow Tie for comment on the closing and to Saxum on the buildings future were not returned. The Borough's lawyer has recommended the Council not comment on the issue.

So far, over 1,100 people have signed a petition calling for the historic movie theater to be preserved. Saxum Real Estate has not submitted new plans for the space, and Codey said the company believes it'll be months before they do so.

You can watch the full council meeting below (discussion on the theater begins around the 27-minute mark):

Image via Google Maps