When a business vacates a building, there’s no telling how long the building will stand vacant. Sometimes, it’s a matter of weeks. Sometimes, those weeks stretch into years. Regardless of how long it takes, it’s not an “enjoyable” experience to see a building standing vacant.
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One of those “years-long vacant buildings” sits on Timberland Drive and is part of the Towne Square Shopping Center. I’m referring to the Towne Square Four movie theater. I can’t tell you if I ever even watched a movie in that theater, because I can’t remember. I know that I saw multiple movies in the theater located in the Lufkin Mall, and just as many movies in what’s now the Cinemark located just off the loop, but I can’t say whether I went to the Towne Square Four…
Over time, it seems like most – not all – of the spaces in that shopping center have been repurposed. Some of the spaces have been multiple different shops and things. But, the movie theater was never repurposed.
Now, I understand, a movie theater would be a bit more difficult to repurpose. You would either have to make it into something that would use the current structure – like another theater, auditorium, etc. or you would have to spend tons of money to renovate it into something completely new. After all this time, either option would probably run just about the same amount…