IMAX site hires general contractor, construction underway

Blacksburgs new combination IMAX theater, bowling alley and restaurant has reached its final stage of construction, after Frank Theatres recently secured a general contractor responsible for completing the First & Main development.

The Birmingham, Alabama-based construction company Stewart Perry plans to resume the project and build Frank Theatres CineBowl & Grille on top of the foundation pad laid by the Blacksburg APF Partners, the First & Main proprietors.

The owners of First & Mains contractual obligation was to prepare the site pad for construction. We delivered that back in October (2013), said attorney and representative of APF Partners Jeff Mitchell.

Once the pad was completed, construction on the site stopped as Frank Theatres searched for a construction company. Mitchell cited construction costs of the theater as cause for Frank Theatres delay in finding a contractor, but anticipates a lot of progress at the center this year.

The contract between Frank Theatres and Stewart Perry was officially signed following financial negotiations, according to Mitchell, just after the first of the year.

Construction is set to resume within the next few weeks, says Mitchell.

Stewart Perrys first meeting with the Town of Blacksburg is scheduled for Feb. 5.

We anticipate construction beginning soon after that meeting. A considerable amount of planning is going on right now to mobilize the construction equipment and complete the design of the building, Mitchell said.

Project manager Bruce Adams will travel from Birmingham to Blacksburg to attend planning meetings as a representative of Stewart Perry.

The commercial construction company has previously completed projects in Virginia, including the Grundy Town Center in Grundy, Va., and the Highlands shopping center in Bristol, Va.

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IMAX site hires general contractor, construction underway