RiverCity Company and Carmike Cinema held a ribbon cutting at noon at 311 Broad St. to celebrate the completion of the new Majestic 12 Theatre.
Over $7 million was invested by the RiverCity Company, with support from the Benwood and Lyndhurst Foundations, to build the theater which will replace the existing Bijou 7.
The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce assisted with arrangements for the grand opening event.
The 70,000-square-foot Majestic is a luxury facility, offering 12 screens and seating 2,500. It features all stadium seating, digital projection in every auditorium, digital “Real D 3D,” two 70-foot screens, digital surround sound, wall-to-wall screens, and luxury high-back seating with retractable cupholder armrests, and validated parking at the Bijou garage, among other amenities.
The theater was built by EMJ Corporation and designed by Artech Design Group.
The new facility includes a VIP auditorium, The Ovation Room, where patrons 21 and older may enjoy deluxe seating with electric reclining capabilities, in-seat food and beverage service. Food, such as crab cakes, Caribbean jerk shrimp, salads, sandwiches and specialty desserts, will be available, according to William Aven, manager of the Majestic.
The Majestic 12 will also offer International Film Series selections and specialty movies not shown in other theaters.
The theater is registered to be the first LEED-certified movie theater in the U.S. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, “LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.” The theater is targeted for LEED Gold Certification.
“Some of the things that make Carmike’s Majestic Theatre environmentally responsible include a rainwater catchment system, recyclable materials used throughout the theater and energy-efficient heating, cooling and lighting systems,” according to Jeff Cannon, director of GreenSpaces.
The Majestic 12 will be open daily year-round.