Redevelopment Plans Approved For Shuttered Route 611 Cinema In Doylestown

DOYLESTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — New restaurant and retail uses are coming to the Barn Plaza under preliminary/final land development plans approved by the board of supervisors on Aug. 19.

The Brixmor Property Group, which owns and manages the shopping center on Route 611, will be demolishing the former Regal Cinema and its decorative silos on Route 611 and replacing them with 41,000 square feet of new restaurant and retail space.

“I reviewed the plan. I think it looks fabulous with what is going in there. The community is really going to enjoy it,” said Supervisor Judy Dixon.

Regal closed its Barn Plaza cinema location in early 2023 after the nationwide movie theater chain declared bankruptcy and began shutting down operations nationwide.

The closure of the movie theater left the shopping center without one of its key anchors.

According to the plans, the new restaurant and retail uses will be housed in three new buildings that will be constructed at the site.

The cinema has been closed since early 2023. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

The new building at the southern end of the cinema site, closest to the existing shopping center, will add 9,600 square feet of new restaurant uses, including a Burtons Grill And Bar, and a well-known burger establishment. Both will include outdoor dining areas and drive-through lanes.

The largest of the three buildings, measuring about 28,000-square-feet, will include several “prominent tenants” that will complement the Whole Foods Market, which opened its doors earlier this year, Brixmor officials said.

And the third building - the smallest of the three located at the northern end of the site - will be home to a drive-through coffee shop and two new retail tenants.

In addition to the new construction, Brixmor will be implementing and meeting all stormwater management, environmental, and pedestrian requirements under the township’s subdivision and land development ordinances.

To enhance traffic flow with the new construction, the plan adds a new access point to the shopping center - a right turn in and right turn out only traffic movement - on Route 611 at the northern end of the former cinema site.

Enhancements are also planned to facilitate the safe flow of pedestrians between the existing shopping center and the redeveloped cinema site. And new sidewalks are planned along the shopping center frontage on 611 from the Dunkin to the end of the former cinema site.

“We’re very excited about (the plan) and we think it’s really going to solidify the property and make it sustainable,” William Greimel, vice president of redevelopment for Brixmor told township planners last spring.

Demolition of the closed theater could happen as early as October, according to Brixmor officials,

“We’re hoping to get started (building) either late this year or early next year,” Greimel added. “We have enough inertia that we can complete all the buildings at the same time as far as our lease-up requirements and our financing of the project.”

The redevelopment of the former cinema site is part of a broader, multi-million-dollar project that included a major upgrade to the facade of the shopping center and the construction of a new Whole Foods store and a new Barnes & Noble store at the former site of Marshall's and Home Goods.

The project also included the demolition of the former Applebee's restaurant pad. It has been replaced by a new building that will be home to a Chipotle Mexican Grill, First Watch Breakfast and Brunch restaurant, and the Juice Pod. Watch for grand openings in the near future.

The Barn Plaza is also home to a Kohl’s Department, Gerhard’s Appliances, Douglas Jewelers, Piccolo Trattoria, Honeygrow, Pure Barre, Mattress Firm, Club Pilates, among others.