Enzian Theater withdraws expansion plan with city of Maitland

The Enzian Theater has withdrawn its application for the planned “Enzian Forever” expansion with the city of Maitland. 

The initiative, which would have seen a 15,000-square-foot increase and two additional theaters, had been met with opposition from Maitland residents fearing a heavy increase in traffic through the surrounding neighborhoods. 

A crucial component of the plan was an agreement with the Park Maitland School allowing additional parking on their property to meet the city’s code requirement for 200 spaces. However the school property was recently sold to an out-of-town buyer, possibly putting the agreement’s future in jeopardy.

“Upon further consideration of the recent sale of Park Maitland to an out-of-town company, and after careful review and considerable discussion, Enzian’s Board of Directors determined that if Enzian moves forward with our submission to the City and is granted our approvals, we would face potentially unacceptable new risks,” said Enzian Theater’s Executive Director David Schillhammer in a statement. “Among the risks, if the school’s new owners, or its landowners, decide at any time to redevelop their site, then we would lose the use of all the additional seating we would be building with our expansion, and would have to reduce operations below that which we have today to an unsustainable level."