Sundance Cinemas on target for fall 2000 opening

When students return in the fall, their arrival will be followed by the completion of the long-awaited Sundance Cinemas complex. Now slated for a fall opening, the complex will join Freshgrocer.com -- a state-of-the-art specialty foods supermarket topped by an 800-car parking garage, scheduled to open its doors in August. In February, Executive Vice President John Fry said that budget problems and the high demand for steel across the city would delay construction of the eight-screen independent Sundance film complex by at least three months. The project, which broke ground nearly a year ago, was originally expected to finish within the next few weeks. Now, steel has arrived, the basement is taking shape and an opening date for the first of Robert Redford's new chain of movie houses will soon be pinned down, according to Tom Lussenhop, the University's top real estate official. "By mid-June, we should know [the date]," Lussenhop said last week. "We want to be very precise." Senior Vice President of the Sundance Film Centers Scott Dickey said the project is "moving full steam ahead" for a fall opening. Adding that while initial projections were probably overly optimistic, Dickey said earlier this week that "it's not delayed in our mind at all." The project is a joint venture between Boston-based General Cinemas and Sundance Cinemas, Redford's company. Sundance's plans for the complex include a restaurant, a tapas bar, an outdoor cafe, an espresso bar, gardens, a town-hall component, a lecture hall and a reflecting pool. Last week, Lussenhop said the parking garage's concrete exterior will be completed shortly, and interior work on the supermarket will begin within the next few weeks. The 31,000-square-foot facility, standing on the northwest corner of 40th and Walnut streets, will feature freshly prepared foods, a deli, coffee bar, juice bar and a sushi bar. In February, owner and operator Pat Burns had said the supermarket would open in July. Referring to the projected August opening, he said last week that construction dates are "fluid." "Construction is right on track for a summer 2000 opening," said Burns, who also owns Drexeline Supervalu in Drexel Hill, Pa., and Barclay Square Supervalu in Upper Darby, Pa. The innovative grocery store will provide interstate catering, by which customers throughout the region will be able to order hot and cold foods from their homes via phone or computer. Details, including delivery areas and options, are still in development, Burns said last week. University officials are hoping that the Sundance Cinemas complex and Freshgrocer.com will stimulate retail along the entire 40th Street corridor, which has traditionally served as the western edge of campus.