AMC Theaters will be placing a state-of-the-art facility at Assembly Row.

AMC to replace the abandoned Loews

By Andrew Firestone

Federal Realty has announced its first tenant to Assembly Row, and the stage is sure to be dazzling. AMC Theaters, the giant movie cinema chain, will be setting up shop with a 60,000 sq. ft. theater, complete with 12 screens (one of them being a vaunted IMAX auditorium), 2,250 seats, and a concession area complete with a full bar and lounge.

The Somerville News caught up with Chris Weilminster, senior vice president of leasing at FRIT, and he could not be happier with the results.

“The execution of this lease is important because it sets the tone for the development of Assembly Row and helps define our commitment to deliver a first-class entertainment experience as one part of this great new neighborhood,” he said.

The cinema will be the first of several entertainment venues, with the possibility of a bowling ally like Boston’s Kings, or another entertainment-based venue coming along with other amenities to the 56-acre development.

“We clearly intend to compliment the AMC theater with other entertainment experiences,” said Weilminster, listing their desires to see top-notch restaurants sitting in the Row to compliment the shopping and cinema. Announcements for final tenants are expected to be made within the next two fiscal quarters.

“We’re out talking to a lot of the well-known iconic American brands that really have great, broad customer appeal,” he said. “We’re very excited. The interest has been very positive. We feel very confident in our ability to deliver a world-class venue to the constituents of Somerville and the Boston community at large.”

Weilminster said the plans for Assembly Row made it a great sell to the many possible businesses that might make their home there. Among the selling-points he listed were “the ease of access to road networks around the property,” and “its being located in a wonderful community that has fully embraced the mix-used development that we are contemplating building.”

Of the outlet store plan released by Federal Realty last November, as many as 50 stores have been planned. “There really is a big hole in the donut for these outlet retailers where they look at where their alternative sites are. Most of them, their closest stores are going to be down in Wrentham, which is a solid 30 miles away from this site.”

“[These chains] look at 26 million plus visitors coming into Boston. They look at the density of the college student base that comes into the Boston MSA on an annual basis.  They see that there’s a great opportunity for them to supplement their full-line stores, that most of them will ultimately have in the suburbs and in the center City of Boston, with the outlet brand, which they are trying to figure out ways to grow.”

With construction for Assembly Row breaking ground in this quarter, the revelation of other businesses slated to set-up shop in the square can only be just around the corner.