Garland Corridor Getting a Second Look as Cinemark and Apartment Developers Seek New Places to Grow

A new Cinemark movie theater is expected to be part of a surge of development slated for a stretch of the Bush Turnpike in Garland that for years has been home to native grasses and trees.A sign at the turnpike service road and Holford Road heralds the coming theater, which will feature "luxury lounger" seating and some of the chain's "extreme digital" screens — wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor screens placed in theaters with a custom JBL sound system.Plano-based Cinemark Holdings, the nation's third-largest movie theater chain, said specifics on the project are still being developed.One Garland official said companies like Cinemark, and a new residential development taking shape across the road, are part of the boosted "energy" in the area between Garland's Firewheel Town Center and Richardson's massive CityLine development."This corridor is rapidly absorbing energy that was once focused succinctly along" Central Expressway, said David Gwin, director of economic development for the city of Garland. "It's an extremely exciting time to be working in that area."  Continue reading...