Sun-Ray Cinema has shown its last movie in Five Points. | Dan Scanlan, Jacksonville Today
Published on May 21, 2024 at 3:11 pm
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The 97-year-old Five Points Theater on Park Street has a new owner.
But Union South Partners, which plans $2 million in renovations to the four-story building, says it has not renewed the lease for Sun-Ray Cinema, which has anchored its first floor for over a decade.
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That means Sun-Ray could stay open until mid-summer, Union South founding partner Jay Weaver said. Then they plan to “honor the building’s historical uses around entertainment,” he said.
“What attracted us to Jacksonville and specifically to Riverside and Five Points is that it offers a genuine, authentic neighborhood experience with a thriving, live-work-play destination,” Weaver said in a news release. “The Five Points Theater building has played an iconic role in helping shape this neighborhood during the past century, and we intend to keep its historic roots as an entertainment and retail complex intact.”
Sun-Ray Cinema operator Tim Massett could not be reached for comment. Contacted a week ago about the status of lease discussions, he said the cinema was “still in a holding pattern” about the future.
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“While the sale was supposed to close weeks ago, it still hasn’t,” Massett said in an email. “We are still negotiating our lease termination agreement, but again nothing has been signed. We are just in limbo.”
The building was designed by architect Roy Benjamin and built in 1927. Part of its 35,000 square feet was the Riverside Theatre, the first in Jacksonville to screen “talkies” — movies with sound. It also hosted live stage performances. But between now and then, it changed format and design a few times.
The theater shut its doors a few times during the 1930s and 1940s, then was remodeled in 1949 and reopened as the Five Points Theater. It closed again in the 1970s, then was converted into a live theater venue operated by the River City Playhouse. In 1991, it became the Club5 nightclub. Then Sun-Ray Cinema opened there in 2011, and the building around it is also home to BREW Five Points and three floors of office space.
Jack Shad acquired the building in 2004, investing $5 million in renovations to restore its original facade and secure a city landmark designation, Weaver said. In his news release, Weaver said the purchase and renovations “are what restored and preserved the structure’s original character and what we see today.”
“Our goal is to build upon and continue what they began 20 years ago in ways that reflect and honor the building’s historical uses around entertainment,” Weaver said.
He said his company has a track record of “adaptive reuse” projects like this one across the Southeast.
Rumors of an impending sale surfaced weeks ago. A “Save Sun-Ray” campaign led a wave of social media protest over any proposed renovation that would include the theater’s shutdown. Supporters even protested at City Council meetings.
As for why the new owners did not renew Sun-Ray’s lease, Union South Partners said a two-screen theater was no longer viable in today’s market.
“We believe you’ll find Sun-Ray’s operators would concur,” the company said. “They will continue to operate the cinema into July to host some final events, and it is our understanding that they are actively looking for other venues in the area that are more conducive to operating Sun-Ray into the future.”
Tenants with active leases on retail and office spaces will remain for the duration of those agreements. Jacksonville Today reached out to a number of them for reaction to the building’s sale, but most did not respond or did not want to comment.
David Wingard, founder of a public relations and marketing firm that bears his name in the Five Points Theater building, said the business has been proud to call the space home for several years. Wingard said it is where the Shad family, the previous owner, leased an office to him to launch the agency 16 years ago.
“The Shad family have helped Five Points reemerge as the cultural destination it is today — which is precisely why we brought our offices back to Five Points — and we hope that continues in the future,” Wingard said in an email. “We are committed to Five Points, and our current lease will allow us to remain in the building for the foreseeable future.”
Union South says it intends to invest what it calls significant capital into the building to improve it as a destination for entertainment, while preserving its “historic fabric.” The company would not specify whether it intended to retain its twin-screen movie theater layout or modify it.
The building currently has vacant retail and office space available for lease under the new ownership, including two storefronts on Park Street.
In addition to renovating the theater and retail space, Union South Partners plans to modernize the office lobby, common areas and restrooms. All office leases will include dedicated parking in the building’s 61-space lot.
