The Cinemark Movies 6 property is now listed for sale in Mishawaka. Any prospective new owner is prohibited from opening another theater on the site. Cinemark also owns the Movies 14 complex. SBT Photo/ROBERT FRANKLIN
MISHAWAKA — The Movies 6 dollar cinema building on East University Drive is one of the most recognizable examples of recent local commercial properties that have been placed on the market for sale.
The Bradley Co. listing reveals that the theater’s days are numbered. Cinemark Holdings, which is selling the building and 4-acre site for $1.65 million, will not allow the purchaser to operate another movie complex on the site, according to property listing.
Less recognizable than Movies 6, but perhaps just as visible, are the number of real estate signs posted on sites one after another across portions of developed and undeveloped Indiana 23 and Douglas Road in northern St. Joseph County.
Property owners appear to be testing the market, in large part, because of the economic rebound that has led to increased commercial activity in Mishawaka. Hotels are under construction and opening. Longtime vacancies are filling with new small businesses or expanding chains. Costco is about a month from opening, which real estate brokers believe will increase the amount of traffic coming into the area.
Now might be a good time to sell. Or to test the waters.
“I think you’re seeing people feeling more confident about having a chance of selling because the economy is doing well,” says John Piraccini, general manager of commercial sales for Coldwell Banker Anchor Real Estate. “The train that was moving 200 miles an hour came to a screeching halt in 2009 and 2010. And it has taken a while to get it rolling again.”
The recession caused some projects to stop in their tracks.
Not only had an IMAX-affiliated theater been sniffing around the area for a potential location, Piraccini says, but a site had been identified in northern Mishawaka for the project.
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