Bart Blatstein, the founder and CEO of Tower Investments, is planning to bring the 17-screen movie theater that was shuttered in 2020, back to South Philadelphia, writes Jakes Blumgart for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The plan is to bring the theater back to the same property that previously hosted it, the Riverview Plaza.

“The theater, to me, it was always the highest and best use for that block,” Blatstein said. “And the demographics are amazing. They were amazing when I opened it 30 years ago. They’re even better now. There’s a lot of kids now back in South Philly, in Center City.”

The rejuvenated Riverview location will include two restaurant spaces and another “small entertainment use.”

Once completed, the new Riverview would become the largest theater in South Philadelphia and Center City, a distinction currently held by the AMC Theatre in the Fashion District.

The original Riverview Theater was opened in 1991, bringing a nine-screen movie complex to a corner of the city that was quite unusual at the time.

Blatstein said construction for the new Riverview Theater will begin at the end of this year with anticipated completion by the close of 2025.

Read more about the return of the Riverview Theater in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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