Theater proximity a factor for Showtime downgrade?

Since Showtime's newest makeover into a value theater, the chief argument made, especially by folks in Team Olson, is that Showtime needed to be downgraded or shuttered due to Marcus' new BistroPlex opening up at Southridge. Since the BistroPlex is new, trendy and apparently otherworldly amazing, Showtime simply couldn't be allowed to remain a traditional theater to compete.

That argument may well work in Franklin, but theater owners apparently question that logic in Brookfield.

Two weeks ago, the Town of Brookfield pondered the development of a 9-screen movie theater in the new The Corners of Brookfield development near I-94 and Barker Road. The owners of The Corners floated the proposal due to interest from a theater operator, and received mixed reviews at the Town Board, and none of it was regarding what most people would have thought. Not even a mile and a half away is Marcus' flagship cinema, the Majestic, with two UltraScreens, three Big Screen Bistros, a Take Five Lounge and Zaffiros Pizza all included.

Sure, Bluemound Road and the I-94 corridor in the western burbs are heavily trafficked. But the fact still stands that there would be two movie theaters in extremely close proximity offering very similar amenities.

So, what's a real factor for Franklin's Showtime troubles?

Bottom line - lack of density and serious development of lands surrounding Showtime Cinema. Looking at what Brookfield and Waukesha have been doing over the course of the past few years, they and other suburbs are following the trend of what Downtown Milwaukee is also doing - constructing apartments at a rapid pace and urbanizing their communities to retain residents and attract millennials, which in turn retains or attracts businesses. You see this unfolding even now as Brookfield tries to woo Fiserv into keeping its headquarters in the suburb by working out a plan with developer Irgens to incorporate "millennial-friendly" amenities in Irgens' The Corridor development, which could house a future Fiserv global headquarters.

Franklin has always been slow to adapt to development trends, perhaps due to its politics taking on a more rural, oligarchic feel - where a few people hold the strings (and thus the future) of the city either via land ownership or the power of their wallets and political donations. It doesn't help Franklin's struggles to grasp onto a denser community when many residents entrenched themselves on the old-time rural feel and don't want the city to evolve.

Unfortunately, Darwinism strikes in cases like this, and the lack of moving forward and evolving leads to sad consequences. Showtime Cinema downgrading itself is just a more passionate, in-your-face example. Basil Ryan's attempts during his Mayoral campaign to highlight Franklin's many underdeveloped strip malls and abandoned buildings are another. And terrifying as that is, some residents took to Facebook and demanded Showtime close its doors altogether - and add itself to the list to empty structure dotting the landscape. Again, the outright stubbornness is hurting Franklin. Instead of fighting the future, residents should focus on plotting the course in anticipation of what's to come, to perhaps minimize what they fear of what's coming.