Makeover of Hopkins Cinema site appears to be on hold

A plan to redevelop the site of the Mann Hopkins Cinema 6 into apartments and stores appears to be on hold.

Mann Theatres, a Twin Cities-based theater owner, announced last month that it was closing the six-screen theater, which had been a fixture on Main Street in Hopkins for 24 years.

And last week, the owner of the building, Beard Group Inc. in Hopkins, pulled back its plan to redevelop the site for a four-story apartment complex, with 131 units and retail on street level.

"They wanted more time to consider and refine their plans," Jason Lindahl, a city planner in Hopkins, said Monday. "I can't really speculate on what they are going to do, [but] they are eventually going to come back with a similar proposal."

Bill Beard, development principal at Beard Group, said Monday that his firm wanted to go with an art deco design for the exterior that would incorporate the cinema marquee, but city staff objected.

"We will step back and take a look at it and find a different way to put skin on the building," Beard said, adding that he hopes to have a new proposal ready in the next couple of months.

The company is also the developer of apartments, a tech center and business park in Hopkins.

A recent public comment period about redevelopment drew about 70 responses, Lindahl said, and the feedback "reinforced what the community believes about the theater, that it's an iconic feature of the hometown feel of Hopkins."

Lindahl said the affection many have for theater is "because it has a physical presence in the community [and] the affordable nature of the entertainment that was provided."

In announcing the closing last month, Mann Theatres cited effects from state-imposed restrictions to combat the coronavirus. Mann said that while the theater "did all it could to adjust, it is not enough to stay afloat, and we sadly join a growing number of small businesses and movie theaters closing permanently."

The company is allowing gift cards purchased at the Hopkins Cinema to be used at any of its other eight theaters, six of which are in the Twin Cities.