San Juan Capistrano : Five-Screen Theater, Retail Complex Planned

Ever since the old Mission Drive-In closed down last year, the only way local residents could see a movie in town was to rent one and watch it at home. The closest first-run theater is in Mission Viejo, about five miles from downtown San Juan Capistrano.

By this time next year, however, that will no longer be the case, said Paul Farber, a developer whose proposed five-screen theater and surrounding retail complex was approved by the City Council this week.

Farber’s project, which will include a four-level parking garage in addition to the theater and 23,000 square feet of retail space, will expand Franciscan Plaza on Camino Capistrano just south of Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Edwards Cinemas already has leased the theater. A cookie shop and yogurt shop will be among the retail stores, Farber said. At least one restaurant is planned for space now occupied by the San Juan Bar & Grill, which will be moving, he said.

Farber said the retail stores are “definitely targeted at both citizens of the community and tourists.”

The only existing shop that will remain in the plaza is a popular French bakery, which will expand, the Mission Viejo-based developer said.

The parking garage will replace an existing construction yard behind Franciscan Plaza. Also, as part of the project, the passenger platform at the train station will be extended southward across Verdugo Street, creating a cul-de-sac and putting an end to the heavy traffic that has jammed the narrow, historic Los Rios Street and Verdugo Street while using them as a shortcut through town.

Farber, who bought the Franciscan Plaza property in 1980, said the movie theater should be open by next Thanksgiving. He said the second phase of the project, a planned two-story retail complex about half a block away with glass dome and an escalator, should open about six months later.