WENATCHEE — The sale of two area movie theater properties could be just the ticket to help finance a new 14-screen multiplex in Olds Station.

Up for sale are the Columbia Cinemas in East Wenatchee and the Vue Dale Drive-In property in south Wenatchee. Both are owned by Wenatchee-based Sun Basin Theatres, which also owns and operates the Liberty Cinemas in downtown Wenatchee and theaters in Deer Park and Port Angeles.

The sales could help finance renovation of the old Kmart building in Olds Station into a theater and retail complex, said Sun Basin general manager Bryan Cook. The theater company acquired a purchase option on the Kmart property in June, said Cook, and continues in discussions with the property’s owner toward completing the purchase. The building and a portion of the surrounding acreage is owned by the state. “If all goes well, we should have traction in the deal by the end of November,” he said.

The Liberty Cinemas in downtown Wenatchee won’t be affected by the sale of the other two properties, Cook said. “Over the last few years, we’ve made a lot of improvements at the Liberty and definitely plan to keep it going.”

Sale of Sun Basin’s properties in east and south Wenatchee, along with their redevelopment of the Kmart building, would shift cinema business to the north end of the city — an area Cook said he believes is growing with commerce, population and opportunity. Recent development in the area includes the new Comfort Suites hotel and the new warehouse and distribution center of the Weinstein Beverage Company.

The Wenatchee Valley Mall in East Wenatchee has announced a cinema complex would be part of its own current expansion and redevelopment plans, but so far details for a multiplex at the mall have been sketchy.

Two months ago, Sun Basin listed the eastside and drive-in theater properties with Center Investments Inc., a property management and commercial real estate company in East Wenatchee. Since then, interest has been strong, said CII’s broker Dan Barr.

“The size and locations of these properties are unique in our market at this time,” said Barr. Although both properties would probably need to be redeveloped, he added, large chunks of commercial real estate for sale on Grant Road and in south Wenatchee aren’t common.

In East Wenatchee, the Columbia Center property includes nearly 18,000 square-feet of interior space in two connected movie theater buildings on 2.95 acres. It includes almost 300 feet of frontage along Grant Road, one of East Wenatchee’s busiest arterials. Asking price: $2.95 million.

In south Wenatchee, the drive-in property consists of 11.27 acres containing small buildings — ticket booth, concession stand, projection booth — and two movie screens. Asking price: $1.85 million. The Vue Dale is closed for winter, but will reopen in the spring for another season of drive-in movies if it is still owned by Sun Basin.

“We know our community loves this drive-in theater,” Cook said. “It’s provided lots of fun and memories to local families for many years.”

But times change, he said, and the land on which the drive-in sits has become more valuable than the actual business. “We have a lot of dollars sitting there in the dirt,” he added.

Projection and concession equipment at both sites would not be included in the sale, Barr said. And any purchase contract would prohibit after-sale use of the properties as competing movie theaters.

Selling the two theaters is part of Sun Basin’s long-term plan to consolidate operations while expanding service in a growing market, Cook said. Development of a larger cinema complex in the old Kmart building — with updated seating and projection equipment — makes sense for Sun Basin, he added. “We want to keep satisfying our customers for as long as we can.”

Becky Sager, general manager of Wenatchee Valley Mall, said Sun Basin’s plans will not affect a proposal to build a cinema complex at the mall, although the names of potential theater developers have not been made public.

“We’ll continue moving forward with our national theaters that have given us letters of intent,” she said. “We welcome the competition and feel this valley has enough (movie) demand for another state-of-the-art theater in East Wenatchee.”

The 107,000 square-foot Kmart building, owned by the state Department of Natural Resources, has been vacant since Kmart closed in 2006. The building is situated on 9 acres in a shopping center on Easy Street that includes Food Pavilion, Big 5 Sporting Goods and other businesses.

Sun Basin’s plans call for adding a second level to the building, using 60 percent of the expanded structure for a 14-screen cinema multiplex and the other 40 percent for retail stores.

In June, Sun Basin signed a $4.25 million purchase agreement for the building and property following a public auction at the Chelan County Courthouse.

Mike Irwin: 665-1179

irwin@wenatcheeworld.com