Main Plaza owners announce 'luxury' makeover for Hollywood 20

Regal Cinemas has renewed its lease for the Hollywood 20 movie theater on Main Street and committed to investing $3 million in renovations, the first signs of a long-term plan for Main Plaza property under new ownership.

BBC Main Plaza, the ownership group comprised of Sarasota entrepreneurs Eric Baird, Jesse Biter and David Chessler, announced the long-term lease agreement with Regal today. The group said the renovations to the theater property would include “state of the art technology, luxury reclining leather chairs and a modern bar and lounge area.”

The improvements will reduce the number of screens at the theater from 20 to 11. Renovations could begin in early fall. It is unclear whether the theater will remain open during construction, Biter said.

A release suggests the theater improvements are the first step toward more changes at Main Plaza. The 8.5-acre property has more than 250,000 leasable square feet, and the owners say they plan to consider new tenants next.

“With Regal committed to the location, we can now start responding to the many requests for space that we’ve received over the last 1.5 years,” Biter said in the release.

BBC Main Plaza acquired the property for $18.1 million in late 2015. The group quickly announced a three-phase development plan, but the property has largely sat unchanged since, with multiple tenants departing.

Today, Baird reiterated the importance of settling on the right mix of tenants.

"We want to make sure Main Plaza is an unmatched entertainment destination for Sarasotans," Baird said in the release.