Wenatchee Valley Mall to get makeover, 14-screen theater
In my job as city reporter I find myself doing a lot of odd things that I wouldn’t normally do if it weren’t my job. Things like riding in a parade with a clown come to mind when I think about the odd, yet interesting and fun things I get to do because of my job.
Well, earlier this week Applesauce was reading the minutes from the April 22 East Wenacthee City Council meeting just for kicks and giggles (and to see what I missed since I was unable to make it to that meeting because something else big happened that same night), and I stumbled upon something interesting in the Mayor’s Report portion of the minutes.
“Mayor Lacy said he met with Vintage Real Estate, LLC, the current owners of Wenatchee Valley Mall. He reviewed the mall’s gross sales analysis for 2007 which included gross sales, total sales tax, vacancies, projected expansion and the additional sales anticipated from redevelopment of the mall which shall include (the) expansion of Sears, a 14-screen theater, eight food court vendors and the addition of a sit-down restaurant and small shops. He added the mall anticipates and increase (of business) by as much as 40 percent if they are able to accomplish all of the redevelopment projects.”
Applesauce thought that was some pretty interesting stuff right there, so I picked up the phone and called Becky Sager, general manager of the mall.
She told Applesauce the plans have yet to be finalized, but the wheels are in motion to make all of the above mentioned improvements at the mall happen. She said she should have conceptual drawings from Vintage Real Estate, the company that bought the mall in November 2007, of what the mall will look like with the improvements in place by the end of the week. She said the drawings will come along with a timeline for how long the project will take.
Look for a story in this weekend’s World.
In the meantime, it is worth noting that Sager also mentioned that there are plans to pretty up the mall. Landscaping improvements and painting will take place by the end of the year. Regarding the 14-screen movie theater Sager said it will not be operated by the company that operates Columbia Cinema, Vue Dale Drive-in and Liberty Cinema.