ROYAL OAK, MI-This popular downtown, a mix of restaurants, youth-orientated shops, bars and restaurants, is about to gain a chain movie theater. Troy, MI-based Emagine Entertainment Inc. broke ground Monday for the construction of a 10-screen theater and 16-lane club-style bowling alley.

The $19 million project is going up on 11 Mile Road behind the city’s three-screen Landmark Main Art Theater. The smaller theater will remain, and won’t likely compete with the Emagine, which will show first run films, said company Chairman Paul Glantz.

He tells GlobeSt.com that he’s been working on the project for 19 months, and says the nightspot crowd in downtown Royal Oak is perfect for his plan. “What’s more iconic than dinner and a movie? You’ve got a terrific array of wonderful restaurants here to combine with the theater.”

The site, a collection of retail shops and parking lot, was originally going to be redeveloped as a 10-story condo development and a grocery store. However, Glantz said the economy dried that plan up. The Emagine theater plan is even better for the community, as a local study showed that it would cause less traffic and parking strain on the city than the condo/store plan.

He said the project, at only 71,000 square feet total, shouldn’t affect the downtown mix too much. Patrons will also be able to use the new 400-car parking garage built by Joseph Freed & Associates nearby.

The two nearest theaters had been the Abbey and the AMC Oakland Mall, both along John R Road a few miles northeast of downtown Royal Oak. These two theaters closed after a new 15-screen Star John R theater opened nearby.   

Emagine includes four other Michigan locations, including Cinema Hollywood in Birch Run, Emagine Novi, Emagine Canton and Emagine Woodhaven. The chain is known for having 100% digital project, all-stadium seating and alcohol available for patrons.