An eyesore to some and an iconic landmark to others, the historical Tamworth Regent Cinema building remains out of favour with prospective buyers of commercial property, despite prime position and renovation potential.
The cinema opened on 7 January 1938 with almost 1000 seats after being built by local figure Zachariah ‘Jack’ Kouvelis in the popular Art Deco style of the time.
According to a document about the sale, the Regent was the only country theatre during the period to have a ‘crying room’ where mothers could watch movies with their kids.
‘Scientific treatment’ provided the theatre with premium sound reproduction and there were hearing aids for the partially deaf, John Gleeson wrote for Cinema Treasures. The cinema’s opening night was a ‘gala affair’ captured on radio and patrons enjoyed a double billing of Bobby Breen in Make a Wish and Tyrone Power in Love is News.
The Regent faced a disruptive period of renovations and reopenings from the 1970s to the 1990s, before closing permanently in December 2008 to make way for the new Capitol Theatre and Forum 6 Cinema.
After the building went on the market earlier this year, a listing on realcommercial.com.au said that ‘the sale of this historic building presents a unique opportunity for visionary developers, they will be supported by the community focused Tamworth Regional Council who celebrate the city’s rich cultural heritage and promote growth of the region.’
However, a council spokesperson said that this description was ‘well intentioned but slightly misleading’ as ‘there are no specific support plans for the support of this building’.
In broad terms, the spokesperson said that council is ‘proud to celebrate our heritage as per Focus Area 7 of our Blueprint 100 strategy.’
Heritage must be preserved but significant redevelopment possible
The run-down site has been the focus of public debate since council’s compliance and building certification teams said last year it would issue it with a clean up notice.
Council’s heritage working group then resolved to identify ‘repair works’ to be done on the building’s exterior and investigate pest control to eradicate or reduce the number of pigeons that were nesting on an air conditioner unit that was removed by 8 December 2023.
An update from the council group on 15 March 2024 said remaining issues included mould, an awning hanging down and flaking paint.
A council meeting on 9 July 2024 recommended that it investigate the possibility of issuing the site with a new clean-up order and said that ‘heritage working group members are concerned regarding the state of this heritage listed building and are seeking assistance from Council to preserve this building.’
In considering whether to issue an order, heritage working group members agreed ‘the Regent Cinema building is a significant heritage listed building which shouldn’t be lost and that needs to be preserved.’
At an asking price between $1.2-$1.5 million, according to Dee Clonan at Partner Now Property, the building – at a ‘prime corner position’ on Brisbane Street and Kable Avenue – presents an opportunity for developers to turn it into accommodation, retail or office space.
Clonan told the Times that a heritage order is attached to two facades of the cinema on Brisbane St and Kable Ave. Any potential redevelopment can go up to eight stories high.
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