With all the changes Shallotte is about to bring, lifelong residents like Amy Clemmons say they’re somewhat glad goes back to the way they remember growing up.
“Nostalgia is powerful. It’s like bringing your childhood back,” Clemmons said, recalling her teenage years spent with her friends at the city’s only movie theater.
With little entertainment in the middle of Brunswick County, they went to the Coastal Cinemas at least once a month and hung out for hours before and after the show.
“Thinking back, maybe it wasn’t the best place, it could have been cleaner,” she said. “But we made so many memories there.”
Now, having closed its doors since being damaged by Hurricane Florence in late 2018, broken and boarded up windows are the only new features the cinema is showing.
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But with its population set to explode in the next few years, Shallotte could have its own cinema again.
Coastal Church has announced plans to purchase the two-acre site of the now-defunct theater in Shallotte to build a church complex that will include a four-screen cinema.
In addition to the theater, plans for the complex include a place of worship, a youth center, a café, and a central disaster response site that could be used by the county.
The renovations are expected to cost $3 million and be completed sometime in 2023.
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Built in 2003, the Coastal Cinema was once a popular meeting place before neglect and poor management led to declining profits and eventual bankruptcy, according to court filings from parent company Frank Entertainment Companies.
Coastal Church officials declined to comment on the plans for the facility, saying the sale is still ongoing.
The community was established in 2010 and has relocated several times within Brunswick County. Lead pastor Lucas Grainger said this is the first time the church has owned a dedicated building for a congregation.
The announcement was mostly positively received.
At a time when the city is expected to double in size in the next 3-5 years and many residents are already seeing the downside of development, new entertainment options are a welcome effect of growth.
“I hope it works this time,” Clemmons said. “With Shallotte growing so fast it’s something families need now. It could be big for the city again.”
Reporter John Orona can be reached at 910-343-2327 or [email protected]