A mega-theater in Albemarle County is coming closer to reality. The Board of Architectural Review (BAR) has given thumbs up on one part of the project.
The developers of the Shops at Stonefield said they needed the green light Monday to keep on track with a very tight timeline. They're pushing and want to build the theater in October.
The building has been tweaked yet again to include decorative metal screens along two sides of the theater and additional screenings on the roof.
The developers have shielded another 12 percent of the theater. The BAR has taken its time with the plans because the building is 320 feet long and 45 feet tall.
"That's rather massive for anything we've seen in the past. We're trying to do what we can to mitigate the size of it and you can't really mitigate the size of it but you can break it up into certain patterns so it doesn't look like a great wall," said Charles Lebo with the BAR.
The lighting plan for the building and the parking lot still need to be reviewed along with the landscaping plan. Those issues will be handled through a series of work sessions.
The final plans for the rest of the town center have also been submitted. The Regal Cinema will be completed by next October. The rest of the buildings should take about seven months to complete.
