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Real estate and heavy-hauling mogul Terry Emmert says he’s purchased the now-shuttered Regal Cinemas multiplex on Southeast 166th Avenue and Division Street in the Centennial neighborhood.
The 62,290-square foot cinema closed late last year as part of a national downsizing by Regal, and sits on a 7.5-acre lot.
Emmert, who made his money transporting large objects but is perhaps better known for his eccentric hobbies (he owns a herd of water buffalo and has brought multiple professional sports teams to the city, none of which are still around) and his frequent legal battles, would not say how much he paid for the building, but its assessed value is listed at $5.8 million. The sale is not yet recorded in the Multnomah County Assessor’s public database.
Emmert also wouldn’t say what he plans to do with the building but says he has “multiple options.”
Whatever Emmert does with the lot, he says he has no intentions of tearing the existing building down.
“That building is unbelievably nice. It has a nice inside, nice outside. There’ just lots of choices,” Emmert says. “Everything from educational to training [facilities]. There’s all sorts of opportunities. You can build a lot of apartments there.”
WW in its “Chasing Ghosts” series last year highlighted two of Emmert’s properties that are currently vacant: the Eastmoreland Racquet Club and an undeveloped housing complex along Northeast Lombard Street.
The Regal Cinemas property is zoned Commercial Employment, meaning it can be used for commercial, light industrial or residential, or a combination.
