As the Gateway construction becomes more visible in the south campus area, behind-the-scenes deliberation continues to take place.

Campus Partners and the Drexel Theatres Group have reached an agreement that will bring an eight-screen cinema to the campus area.

The theater will be the second-largest Drexel cinema in the city, with a projected 1,000 seats, seven auditoriums, a bistro and bar.

“Our plan all along for this theater is that it’s not going to be just a typical commercial theater. It’s going to show independent films, art films and world cinemas,” said Jeff Frank, Drexel Theatres Group principal.

“We also want to have the facility available to university groups and community groups outside of the university. We want to work with lots of different groups to expand the theater,” he said.

The theater will be located on the second floor of a new building being constructed just north of East Ninth Avenue.

Campus Partners spokesman Steve Sterrett said in 1999, when the Gateway Center was being proposed, a cinema was part of the original plans, but concerns about the number of area theaters prevented those discussions from going further.

But in the last year that concept has been revisited, and Jay M. Shapiro, president of JMS Advisory, was brought in to evaluate the market.

Shapiro’s study concluded that the concept behind the Drexel Theatres would provide a unique opportunity for the university district and discussions were resumed in the last six months, Sterrett said.

“A theater of this type would thrive in the university environment because of the diversity of the population,” Shapiro said. “There are an abundance of first-run commercial released screens in Columbus, but this particular unit will be a great compliment to the specialized venues.”

Architectural plans for the theater are still being discussed, but there will be seven auditoriums of different sizes that will accommodate audiences for a variety of shows.

The eighth cinema will be a “black-box” theater typically used for live entertainment. The theater will have the same theatrical lighting, but will not have stadium seating as is found in other cinemas. The lack of permanent seating offers a more flexible environment that can easily be transformed, Sterrett said.

“The theater can easily be rearranged to accommodate a film one day, a multi-media performance the next, and another day have a live performance,” Sterrett said.

The cinema is intended to serve as an entertainment “anchor” in the Gateway Project – Campus Partners is hoping the theater will inspire other businesses in the project to “play off of each other,” he said.

“In the United States, the best examples of the most vibrant urban infill-use developments have successfully cemented the interdependent relationship of cinema, dining and entertainment establishments as a key merchandising draw,” said Bob Welanetz, the president and chief executive for retail, in a statement released Thursday.

“The Gateway’s cinema’s design, programming and operating strategy will have significant positive impact on the quality selection and the performance of the restaurant and entertainment venues offered in the project,” he said.

Because the cinema is still in the early stages of design, it is too early to tell how much the construction will cost.

Sterrett said Campus Partners and members of the Drexel Theatres Group will be attending a cinema marketing convention in the Spring where they will be able to gather a better understanding of what the technical equipment will cost.

The South Campus Gateway Center is still scheduled to open in fall of 2005. Sterrett said the introduction of the cinema will not prolong the opening.