The Magic Officially Leaves St. Michael

When the Cinemagic Theater opened in St. Michael, less than 1,300 days before it would eventually close, there was a considerable amount of fanfare.

Contrast that to Wednesday, when a crew of two men from RSG Signs in Ramsey slowly, but surely, erased the last sign–quite literally–that the company was ever here.

Cinemagic walked away from the theater complex, which included a bar, arcade and food court area, in 2010. For the past two years, a realtor has been looking to find a buyer for the bank-owned property, while creditors have stripped out everything from seats to projectors.

Now, a deal seems imminent for the space, according to Marc Weigle.

Weigle told the Economic Development Authority Wednesday (ironically) that a purchase agreement for the space would be about "three weeks" off, and that the site would be a new retail outlet.

He would not elaborate.

"When I asked if I could, they said, 'Do you want us to go to Albertville?' So 'm going to leave it at it's going to be a retail site."

Members of the EDA joked that they would pressure it out of Weigle, but he didn't cave.

"I guess we'll find out soon enough," said EDA member Lenny Akkerman.

Meanwhile, the final letters from signage were being removed from the facade of the building, which is less than six years old.

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