Council Approves 2nd Film Complex for Del Amo Mall

The Torrance City Council has unanimously approved a plan to build a 2,900-seat, nine-screen movie theater complex at the Del Amo Fashion Center.

The 50,000-square-foot Mann movie theater complex will be located in a vacant 85,000-square-foot detached building that formerly housed a drugstore.

The nine theaters will range in size from 192 seats to 480 seats. Officials with the Torrance Co., owners of Del Amo Fashion Center, said the movie theater will be open next summer.

Although two residents who spoke during Tuesday’s council meeting said they feared the new theater would cause parking problems, principal planner Jeff Gibson said the mall has enough parking spaces to accommodate the extra moviegoers.

However, Gibson added that some parking problems may arise during weekends and the Christmas shopping season.

James Jones, president of the Torrance Co., told the council that the mall has about 1,700 parking spaces within 500 feet of the proposed movie theater complex.

The council approved the plans after Councilman Bill Applegate asked that the Torrance Co. assign security guards to patrol the parking lots after dark.

Del Amo Fashion Center already has a six-screen United Artists theater at the north end of the mall, which officials said will not be affected by the new movie theater.