Independence Starlight Cinema donated to Buchanan County Tourism

The owners of the Independence Starlight Cinema, which closed its doors Aug. 29, donated its theater building and land to Buchanan County Tourism.

The bureau said in a news release its intent is to sell the property, not run it as any kind of business. Profits from the transaction will be used to fund various projects.

“We are so appreciative and grateful to be entrusted with this gift from Starlight Cinema,” Kriss McGraw, bureau president, said in the release.

She emphasized that it is just the property and not the business that was given to the bureau.

“The former theater is currently on the market and is one of the best buys of commercial property in Buchanan County,” Dawn Kress Vogel, bureau vice president, said in the release.

“It was appraised in July 2021 at $720,000. Although the building remains basically intact, it may not remain a movie theater,” she added.

"The building may make a good dinner theater, it could also become a secure, indoor, climate-controlled storage facility, it could be a technology server warehouse. Potential uses for the property are infinite."