$60-Mil Project Opens With Downtown Theater

BIRMINGHAM, MI-The Uptown Palladium 12, a new state-of-the-art entertainment theater complex in the heart of Downtown, will open to the public Friday with the opening of the “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” movie. The new theater was built in a reversal of the current trend away from local movie houses to the large mega-plex theaters.

The two-story theater will feature first-run movies. With 73,000 sf, the theater has 12 auditoriums with 2,650 seats. A premier auditorium will also feature private viewing for up to 175 guests, with tables, food and beverage service.

The new theater is part of a $60-million project that includes new retail and restaurants. The theater replaces the Uptown Birmingham 8, a complex down the street currently showing first-run movies. This theater will be converted into an art film theater, showing foreign and independent films.

The theater opened in spite of a long contest between the city and developer Related Retail Corp. about the size of the project.