Downtown Evanston's only movie theater shut its doors Sunday, July 19, leaving the city without a cinema until early 2027.

AMC Evanston 12, at 1715 Maple Ave. in the Church Street Plaza building, closed for what the company called a "comprehensive, multimillion-dollar renovation." When it reopens, the theater will have seven screens instead of 12 and will be renamed AMC Evanston 7, according to AMC's announcement on Tuesday, July 15.

The renovation will add luxury recliner seating, updated auditoriums and restrooms, new carpeting and paint, and redesigned common areas, AMC said.

The five screens being eliminated will make room for a proposed 26-story mixed-use tower at 900 Clark St., on the north end of the Church Street Plaza property. Continuum Development, which acquired Church Street Plaza in September 2025, is behind the high-rise proposal. The tower would include 360 residential units, with 72 designated as affordable housing, according to The Daily Northwestern.

Continuum co-founder Evan Meador said in AMC's news release that the renovation would keep the theater as part of the local business community long-term.

The closure was not a surprise to city officials. Fourth Ward Councilmember Jonathan Nieuwsma told residents at a ward meeting on Monday, July 7 to expect the shutdown. He said the renovation would be funded entirely by "AMC corporate money" with no city financial assistance.

"I look at this as a positive that AMC is willing to invest in our community, and give us an entertainment amenity that's nicer than it is now," Nieuwsma said at the July 7 meeting, according to the Evanston RoundTable.

The theater has a turbulent history. It opened in 2000 with 18 screens under Century Theatres. Cinemark, which later operated the location, closed it during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and ended its lease by February 2021. AMC reopened the space in November 2022 with 12 screens; the remaining six were converted into the SkyZone trampoline park on the building's south end.

Other Church Street Plaza tenants, including World Market, SkyZone, Cozy Noodles & Rice, and Blick Art Materials, remain open. But two businesses have already departed ahead of the proposed high-rise: Chili's Evanston permanently closed, and Dogtopia dog daycare relocated, The Daily Northwestern reported.

The city has not yet set a timeline for reviewing the 900 Clark St. tower proposal. Nieuwsma told residents at the July 7 meeting that officials expect the application from Continuum "soon," though the Evanston RoundTable reported that a revised application had not been filed as of mid-July.