Marcus Theatres was denied again in its bid to expand the complex on La Grange Road and 163rd Street.
The planning commission last week unanimously rejected the company’s second request to add an I-Max ultra screen theater on the north end of the building and a three-story parking deck on the south end.
Nearly 30 residents of the nearby Hummingbird Hill and Saratoga developments and the Alden-Orland Park Rehabilitation and Health Care Center opposed the expansion of the theaters at 16350 S. La Grange Rd.
“We bought with commercial property in front of us. But this has to stop,” said Ed Braglia, spokesperson for the group.
“This is commercial property that is not giving the homeowners any consideration. Would you like to wake up in the morning and look at a concrete wall? We don’t,” Braglia said.
Marcus Theaters had proposed adding a 10,195-square-foot addition, including a 75-foot wide, 42-foot high screen to the current structure. The new screen would add 480 seats, bringing the theater’s capacity to 3,227 seats.
In 1995, Marcus built a 10-screen theater complex. Then in 1997, the company requested and received approval for an additional four screens, a restaurant and office building.
“They built the restaurant but backed off the office building. And now they have 14 theaters. The latest proposal calls for yet another large screen theater which would block the view of the detention area to the south and add another building mass to the area,” said community development director Bob Sullivan.
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Marcus Theatres’ first bid was rejected by the planning commission on May 23. It included a request to add four more screens and the ultra screen, adding 3,620 seats in the theaters. That proposal also called for a four-story parking garage.
In June, the company’s attorney, David Sosin, asked the village board’s community development committee for permission to resubmit a scaled-back proposal. It was that plan the Planning Commission rejected.
“I really believe this property is maxed-out. And if they want to build that ultra theater, then you will have to take out some of the existing seats to do it,” said Planning Commission Chairwoman Pat Gira.