Florida Construction News staff writer
Design and engineering work is advancing for a $50-million EVO Family Entertainment Center planned at the eastern gateway to Cleveland Street in downtown Clearwater.
About $3.7 million in construction-document work has received approvals that finalized the development site, allowing the project team to coordinate the plans needed to make the facility permit-ready.
Clearwater City Council approved closing Laura Street, Grove Street and an alley on Oct. 1, following initial approval on Sept. 17. On Sept. 28, the Clearwater Community Redevelopment Agency also approved the sale of a parcel of land surrounded by other properties within the development site.
Approvals establish a contiguous site configuration that includes a planned 400-space parking area.
TK Architects is leading the architectural and engineering work as architect of record, coordinating structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering with the project’s other consultants.
The work also involves interior designers, cinema specialists, acoustical experts and Dolby’s planning and design teams. Their responsibilities include building systems and structural design, as well as auditorium geometry, sightlines, acoustics, screens and projection systems.
“We’re all getting together now and coordinating this beautiful project,” said Jack Muffoletto, senior principal at TK Architects, who is overseeing consultant coordination.
The technical requirements of the cinema are a major part of the design effort. The facility will have seven auditoriums equipped with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, including a central auditorium with a screen more than 131 feet wide and seven storeys tall.
The screen is expected to be the largest cinema screen in the world.
“We started this project with the auditoriums and kind of worked out from there,” Muffoletto said. “We’re making the auditoriums exactly to specification first.
“Not to mention, the biggest screen on Earth is going to be in this facility. Nobody’s ever done this before.”
The 83,000-square-foot entertainment centre is planned to include 16 bowling lanes, more than 100 arcade and redemption games, laser tag, climbing attractions, dining, and private event and conference spaces alongside its premium cinema offerings.
Development is intended to serve as an entertainment anchor for the Cleveland Street district and a component of downtown Clearwater’s largest redevelopment effort in more than 50 years.
