Cameron Meier
Since March, when this photo was taken, the only significant addition has been a concrete foundation.
With the film industry stalled and movie houses shuttered because of the COVID-19 pandemic, some cinephiles feared the project had been scrapped. Those fears were exacerbated when Alamo Drafthouse announced extensive layoffs last month and temporarily removed the Orlando page from its website. (It’s back up now, at drafthouse.com/orlando.)
In addition, construction of the cinema at Vineland Pointe in south Orlando, near the intersection of I-4 and Daryl Carter Parkway, has been stalled for months while construction of the complex’s other businesses – Target, for instance– has continued. But Bergner sounds enthusiastic that the project will open next year.
“The theater’s construction has been delayed until the normalization of film releases and ability to properly distance patrons,” Bergner says. “It will open 2021 – and it will be a winner!”
The Texas-based Alamo Drafthouse was founded in Austin in 1997 and has since spread to nearly 50 locations in 10 states. The Orlando cinema (the first Drafthouse in Florida) will have 10 dine-in auditoriums, with a total of 942 seats, according to the company’s original announcement last year, in addition to the ability to project 35mm film.
Most if not all of the company’s theaters are currently closed. For more information on the phased reopening, visit drafthouse.com. And to see the exact location of the cinema, go to vinelandpointeorlando.com.
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