Mann's Village plan

By ANDREW HINDES

Mann Theatres is close to announcing a deal with Beverly Hills-based developer Regent Properties to build its proposed Westwood Village multiplex and retail center.

The stadium-seating site, known as the Regent Mann Theatre complex, would be located in the northwest end of Westwood Village.

Mann president-CEO Chuck Goldwater would not confirm the deal, but did say, "We are within inches of finalizing an agreement with a developer with whom we've worked in the Los Angeles area."

Regent Properties also is the developer of the Glendale Marketplace, a retail-entertainment mall anchored by a Mann four-screen cinema. That project, on Brand Blvd.. and Broadway in Glendale, is scheduled for completion in March.

The Westwood Village Specific Plan caps the number of theater seats in the village at 6,030 --- the exact number currently operated there by Mann (which owns all Village screens). To comply with the limitation, Mann will close several of its existing theaters, including the Regent and Four-plex.

Local community activists generally support the Mann project, which would add parking facilities while maintaining the same number of seats.

Westwood is a critical market for Mann, which operates 10 screens in seven locations, including the historic single-screen Village Theatre and Bruin Theatre, which would remain intact under the plan.

Mann, which is jointly owned by Paramount and Warner Bros., operates over 400 screens in 66 locations, predominately in California and Colorado.

The company is also planning to build a 14-plex in the proposed retail and entertainment complex adjacent to its Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Blvd.

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