Is “The Last Picture Show” finally coming to the Pelham Picture House?

Fans of the local institution hope not, but the recent disclosure that the Village of Pelham Board of Trustees has identified a preferred developer to discuss the future of the blighted gas station property beside the 105-year-old cinema has triggered concern that a plan for new apartments could gobble up the historic showhouse.

Some of that concern emerged during the most recent meeting of the Village of Pelham Board of Trustees, where two residents urged the panel not to approve any development that would change the historic movie theater.

“The Picture House is a quintessential Pelham monument,” said Nathan Pereira during the January 27 meeting.  “If this board thinks that building another apartment building on top of it and putting the theater in the basement like they do in the city is going to be something that attracts [people] to our town, I think you’re way off board. And I think every trustee should be on record as to whether they would even consider that or not. My personal opinion is it would be very detrimental ….to have the Picture House taken down for an apartment building of any size.”

Another resident, Suzann De La Pena, spoke about the impact of greenlighting a major construction project on an area of Wolfs Lane that used to be under water.  “What concerned me is … is that there was going to be a basement construction project for parking and that there would be over 1,000 feet of digging to create this space,” she said.

The announcement sent out by The Picture House last week

Village Mayor Chance Mullen told Pereira that the board had not stated that they would entertain a proposal to take down the Picture House. He explained that the sale of the long-closed gas station at 163 Wolfs Lane, right beside the Picture House, meant that a developer could build an apartment building on the lot. He also pointed out that Picture House management has met with developers.

“We know that the Picture House has been talking to developers about how they can reimagine their space,” Mullen said. “They’ve been having that conversation since before I moved here in 2012, right? Ever since they bought the thing and saved it from being torn down and turned into a bank, they have been trying to figure out how can we make better sense of our own footprint so that we have a sustainable theater. Because the truth is it’s challenging to run a theater that has a 300-seat, one-room movie screen, right? So we knew that there was going to be some activity. And before that activity came to us, what we thought was, ‘Listen, if somebody comes before us and builds there, not only could we end up with a project that we don’t think is good planning, but there’s also problems with the zoning map itself.’”

Mullen talked about the possibility that the two remaining gas stations beside the lot at 163 Wolfs Lane might also sell to a developer, which spurred the trustees to seek proposals for potential development last May.

“This moment that we’re at right now, we don’t know what it’s going to be,” he said. “The only thing that we asked of all the developers was: think scale, think about something that over time we can sort of overlay a master plan and then we can decide, do we want to do 1 lot, 2 lot, 3 lots, 4 lots? How do we want to think about this for the best possible impact for the community itself?”

De La Pena pointed out that there is no local statute that protects landmarks.

“Well, the Picture House isn’t a landmark, let’s be clear,” said Mullen. The mayor said that when the historic fire station was taken down to make room for the new apartment house under construction across Fifth Avenue from the Municipal Center, a small museum-like display of the old fire station, noting its history, will be part of the building.

“I have no idea what’s going to happen with the Picture House, but the marquee is considered historically significant or, or something like that,” Mullen said. “So I think that that the marquee has to be preserved.”

After the meeting, the Pelham Examiner asked Mullen if the Village had identified a specific developer for this project. He said that the board had not, but that more information would come at the next meeting, which is scheduled for Tuesday, February 10. According to the agenda posted today for that meeting, the trustees plan to consider a resolution to enter into an agreement with PHP Partners LLC as a potential developer.

While the mayor insists that there is no redevelopment plan at this time, the village posted a request for qualifications (RFQ) last May seeking developers who could work with the trustees and develop a feasible project that would include the Picture House and potentially the three gas stations just north of the theater. The property of the former gas station at 163 Wolfs Lane was sold to James Smithmeyer of JMJ Contracting and Development in December for $2.1 million, according to Houlihan Lawrence Commercial. The other two properties are still operating as gas stations.

“The Village of Pelham is seeking to enter into a public-private partnership agreement to facilitate the expansion, redevelopment, rehabilitation and future operations of the Pelham Picture House a/k/a, the Picture House Regional Film Center, a historic movie theater located in Pelham, New York,” according to the RFQ. “The Village seeks to transform the Pelham Picture House into a unique regional center for the arts, and to transform the surrounding properties into residential housing with a commercial or community use component.”

During the January 27 meeting, Mullen said, “We know that the Picture House has been talking to developers about how they can reimagine their space.” Mullen said the board would “take their opinion very strongly.”

The Picture House is planning to hold a series of meetings with its supporters, starting with an open house on February 17, to discuss “the changing landscape of moviegoing.”

“We’re hoping to explain the way the movie system works,” said Clayton Bushong, executive director of The Picture House in an interview. “This is the first of many check-ins with the community regarding the Picture House.”

Bushong said he has been following the disclosures made by the trustees, but “nothing has been decided” by the village as far as he can tell.

“The Picture House is an important part of the community,” he said. “The responsibility we have is to keep that alive. We have an institution to protect.”