Colorado community concerned over pending movie theater closure to make room for housing

For decades, the Skyline Cinema in Dillon, Colorado has been one of the few places Summit County families go to watch the latest movie, teenagers go for their first jobs, and friends go to spend a few hours together. Now, that could all be coming to an end.

The future of the Skyline Cinema is uncertain as a multifamily housing project moves forward at the theater's location. The developer, Pagewest, has been working with the Town of Dillon on plans for the property at 312 Dillon Ridge Road. The town says the project would bring new multifamily housing to the site, though the plans have been evolving and were still being finalized earlier this year.

Skyline has been a fixture at Dillon Ridge Marketplace since it opened in 1999, and Mitchell Theatres acquired the location in 2012. For some local teenagers, the potential loss is about much more than just having to drive farther for a movie, but that's a big part of it.

"We could go Steamboat, or we could go Denver. Both are an hour and a half away," said Magnus Murphy, one of several local teens who spoke about the theater.

Lincoln Straughn and brothers Magnus and Gavin Murphy said they have been going to the Skyline for years. They remember seeing movies there with their families; movies like "Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse" and "Trolls", along with various Star Wars Films. 

"It's big. It's nice. They have all that you could need, and they bring all the movies," Magnus said.

Skyline is also the county's largest movie theater. While there is another independent theater in Breckenridge, losing Skyline would mean a much longer drive for many Summit County residents who want lots of options for "popcorn movies" on the big screen.

The possible closure has some residents questioning whether another option could have been explored before the property was redeveloped.

"You can't force anybody to stay open," Magnus said. "But rather than selling it to make room for more condos, if you don't want to run it anymore, why not keep it open to see if someone else will take over and buy it from you?"

That concern comes as Dillon, like many mountain communities, continues to wrestle with the need for housing. The proposed development is expected to include both deed-restricted and market-rate housing, according to information presented to the community; the split is 20% deed restricted/80% market rate apartments so far.  

But some residents say they worry that new development can come at the expense of the things that make a mountain town feel like a community.

"Everybody talks about we need more workforce housing, which we really do," Magnus said. "But then all we get is expensive condos that nobody asked for and just take up space and kind of take away from that."

The Skyline's future has been debated before. In 2023, the theater's owner said he was not interested in selling the property to a developer who had proposed workforce housing at the site. Now, a different development team is pursuing a multifamily project there. While the theater has not publicly announced a closing date, employees have reportedly told people in the community that they could have anywhere from a month to a year left.

That uncertainty has only added to the anxiety for people who see the theater as an important part of growing up in Summit County.

"I feel like it's uniquely important because I think a lot of teenagers here, their first job is the movie theater," Straughn said. "We know personally several people who've worked here."

His friends also point to something that can be easy to overlook in discussions about development: simply having somewhere for young people to go.

"It's a great way to take people on dates, to go hang out with friends and just to see what's going on in the world of pop culture and media and stuff," Magnus said.

The theater is still operating and showing movies, including major new releases.

The theater's owner did not respond to a request for comment.

At a recent town meeting, however, the owner reportedly offered to donate the theater's equipment to anyone willing to take over the operation. That leaves perhaps the biggest question of all: If Skyline Cinema does disappear, could someone else find a way to keep the pop culture centered movie theater alive in Summit County?