By Kathleen Stinson|Special for The Arizona Republic
Queen Creek residents have wanted a movie theater for a long time, according to town officials, and now two theater chains are competing to be the first to make their dreams come true.
Queen Creek does not have the population to support two 14-screen movie theaters across the street from each other, according to one study. Nevertheless, both Harkins Theatres and Maya Cinemas may be on a course to do just that.
California-based Maya Cinemas wants to open a theater in Queen Creek in March, proposing a 170,000-square-foot movie theater and entertainment district to be built on the southeastern corner of Ellsworth Loop and Rittenhouse Road.
In May, Vestar — the retail real-estate company that developed Queen Creek Marketplace in 2008 — announced it had taken out a seven-year loan totaling $63.5 million to refinance the shopping center with plans to further develop the property.
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