Entertainment options could become much more plentiful in downtown Royal Oak, as plans for a movie theater/bowling alley materialize.
The developer behind the Main North building is working on plans to build a 10-screen movie theater and bowling alley in the large empty lot at Troy and 11 Mile Road. The complex will have 1,700 theater seats. The screens will range in size from 86 to 395 seats. It is expected to be similar to the Emagine Theaters in Novi and Canton.
"They have not submitted anything formally," says Tim Thwing, director of planning for Royal Oak.
But that doesn't mean it's not coming. Thwing says the plans he has seen show a one-story building, similar to modern-day cinemas. It would be different than the multi-story theaters in downtown Birmingham. Nothing is planned to be built above the screens so far.
"Obviously it would be (slightly) taller than one story to fit in all of the screens," Thwing says.
Source: Tim Thwing, director of planning for Royal Oak
Writer: Jon Zemke
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