Westmont Theater Could be Bought by Cherry Hill Firm

Reported by Haddonfield-Haddon Township Patch editor Bill Duhart.

A Cherry Hill developer is in negotiations to buy the historic Westmont Theater and renovate it into a commercial building, after the Haddon Township Board of Commissioners approved a new effort to breathe life back into the property.

Lazgor LLC agreed to exclusive talks to buy the building and land for $50,000, and Haddon Township recently OK’d a 60-day period to hammer out the details and potentially come to a final agreement.

While it might seem like a lowball offer for the 86-year-old icon, Mayor Randy Teague said it’s “better than anything we’ve seen.”

The theater might be worth more if it could simply be flattened and have something new built, Teague said, but the façade has to remain, as it’s a national historic landmark.

Because of that, Lazgor will likely have to dump about $4 million into the building to renovate it and turn it into a viable space for business, Teague said.

“At the end of the day, they’re going to have to spend a lot of money to get it to that point,” Teague said before the commissioners approved negotiations with the developers. “It’s still a long way away. It doesn’t mean we sign a deed and give them the theater tomorrow.”

Teague said the township received another offer from a private citizen to purchase the building for $60,000, but the commissioners didn’t consider it credible.

“There weren’t any supporting documents about how he would pay to rehabilitate the building,” Teague said.

Westmont opened as a grand movie house and featured a 120-piece orchestra when it debuted in 1927, but has been dark since 1986.