Owners Plan To Demolish Madison Movie Theater

MADISON, NJ - The historic Madison Movie Theater located at 14 Lincoln Place may fall to a developer's wrecking ball based on plans submitted to the Madison Land Use Office.

Mayor Robert Conley told Patch in an email that Saxum, the Parsippany-based company that owns the property, submitted plans for the redevelopment of the theater site.

According to Conley, the application is similar to the concept that was presented last year to the Madison Historic Preservation Commission and included a mix of residential and commercial.

The commercial includes retail and a single 90-seat theater, the concept had shown two, 45-seat theaters, Conley said.

The plans will be heard by the Planning Board to be scheduled once the application is deemed complete. Since the application calls for the demolition of a building in the historic district they also need to appear in front of the Historic Preservation Commission, Conley said.

The future of 14 Lincoln Place has been the subject of much debate after Saxum Real Estate purchased the building. Locals were surprised when Bow Tie Cinemas unexpectedly shuttered its doors in May of 2017. The Madison movie theater, last owned and operated by Bow Tie Cinemas, had shown movies for over 90 years. Bow Tie purchased the theater in 2013, and upgraded the projectors to digital and and added stadium seating.

Conley said the Saxum presentation will take place at 7 p.m. on Feb. 12 in Council Chambers on the second floor of the Hartley Dodge Memorial Building.

(Photo courtesy of Google Earth)

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