Site For Proposed LP Theater Has Issues

Dennis Mann wants to put a theater somewhere in Lake Placid, but he is not sure it will be on the site being considered.

Mann wants to put in a 120-seat theater with two screens at the Mid Town Center on Tower Street. He would also like to open a restaurant.

There are six condo units in the Mid Town Center. According to the town's development order, a document listing the allowed uses on the property, only retail, office, medical and service businesses can locate there.

The order would have to be changed before a theater and restaurant could go in. The Local Planning Agency and Lake Placid Town Council have to approve any amended order, according to Town Clerk Arlene Tuck.

Tuck said when the LPA and the Town Council approved the order, they made it clear that food sales would not take place because of the traffic that would likely be generated.

Tower Street connects U.S. 27 with County Road 621.

A traffic study will have to be completed, according to Highlands County Engineer Ramon Gavarrete. It needs to be approved by Gavarrete's department before being submitted to the LPA and the council.

The study will cover the number of daily trips and the impact on traffic with one-half mile of the development, Gavarrete said.

The developer of Mid Town Center, Bill Klohn, president of MDG Capital Corp. in Naples, has to pay for the study.

The next LPA meeting will be held March 16.

Hoz Compton, chairman of the LPA, said he hasn't seen the application for the theater and restaurant. But Compton added that when Mid Town was approved it was intended to be for professional offices.

Mann, who lived in Clewiston for nine years, owns a theater in the Hendry County city on Lake Okeechobee. He moved to Lake Placid in 2007.

Mann said there is a lot of interest in a theater in Lake Placid. He noted that he gets calls from people every day about it.

"It would be something to do here," Mann said.

Mann said he doesn't "feel confident" about the proposed site. However, he noted that he has a backup plan if the Mid Town Center location doesn't work out.