The Loft Cinema starting to expand

KGUN 9 was the first to share the news last fall : The iconic Loft Cinema on Speedway in Midtown Tucson is expanding.

Friday marked the official groundbreaking, though construction started last week on the $4.2 million dollar transformation.

Like a lot of Hollywood movies, the plan to transform the movie theater has gone through years of delays and re-writes. Talks to modernize the 52-year-old theater have going on for more than a decade.

Vint & Associates Architects is the project's architect and Barker Contracting is the general contractor.

Executive director Peggy Johnson said Friday’s milestone means “everything” to her.

The patio area between The Loft’s main building and Screen 3 building will become a new indoor lobby, box office and concession stand.

Johnson says the business model of The Loft only housing three screens is “tough,” so the project is adding two new screens. One of them will be a permanent outdoor theater complete with a rooftop bar and terrace.

The new screens mean more flexibility and more movies.

“I feel like now we’ll have enough to do exactly what we want to do,” said program director Jeff Yanc. “So it’s very exciting… Non-English language films, documentaries, special events. So we’ve brought a lot of culture to the community. But also a lot of entertainment.”

“There aren’t that many movie theaters that are independent, stand-alone arthouses that do their own unique programming,” said Johnson.

The Loft will also add an elevator and become wheelchair accessible.

The total price tag is $4.2 million. So far, The Loft has raised a little less than half of that, asking supporters to give what they can to reach that goal.

“We’ve owned the theater 22 years and we’ve always managed to do whatever we set out to do,” said Johnson. “And this is the biggest thing we’ve done and the last big thing we’ll do.

“I’m very confident. I think the community recognizes what an asset The Loft is.”

Johnson says the theater’s improvements will do even more to “put Tucson on the map.”

Yanc says a woman in the neighborhood who owns an Airbnb told him she recently booked a couple visiting from Michigan, who stayed in Midtown just to visit The Loft for a week full of screenings.

The plan is for most of the construction to be done by next February or March 2025, with the outdoor theater complete by next summer.

WATCH PREVIOUS COVERAGE BELOW | FIRST LOOK: The Loft Cinema plans to expand in 2024

The Loft will be open during construction. You can find the full details of the construction project on The Loft’s website .

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Ryan Fish is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9 and comes to the Sonoran Desert from California’s Central Coast after working as a reporter, sports anchor and weather forecaster in Santa Barbara. Ryan grew up in the Chicago suburbs, frequently visiting family in Tucson. Share your story ideas and important issues with Ryan by emailing ryan.fish@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter .