Demolition of Riverfront Park’s Imax building expected in March

Permits for the demolition of the Imax building and the roof over the ice rink were reissued this week by the city of Spokane, signaling that work on the redevelopment of Riverfront Park continues despite a slight delay to allow for more public input and revisions to the project.

Demolition is expected in March.

Garco Construction, the project’s general contractor, was to bring the Imax building down in November, but its work was delayed.

According to Fianna Dickson, spokeswoman for the city parks department, the delay allowed for additional public input, revisions to lighting and shelter designs, and more redevelopment work into the portion of the park project focused on the U.S. Pavilion area.

The decision to demolish the Imax theater came in September 2016, but its fate had been discussed for years. A master plan for the park’s redevelopment, agreed to in 2014, called for closing the Imax because of declining revenues.

The Imax building was built in 1978 and reached peak attendance in 2005 with 106,000 visitors. The attraction’s revenues plummeted following the opening of the Imax screen at the AMC cinema in nearby River Park Square and the loss of licensing to show big-budget Hollywood films in 2009. In 2012, the theater lost $342,000 and saw 36,500 people attend movies.

The theater building will not be replaced. Its location will be open space, called a “central meadow,” between the U.S. Pavilion and the paved Howard Street promenade running through the park.