A warehouse could be coming soon to replace a movie theater near you — if a Florida-based hedge fund gets its way.

The popular Howard County theater known as Columbia Snowden 14 and ScreenX will reopen to audiences Friday after Cinemark abruptly ceased operations there last month.

The property’s new owner, Sterling Organization, a private equity real estate firm headquartered in West Palm Beach, has hired Phoenix Theatres Entertainment to take over the cinema’s operations — even as it seeks permission to raze the theater and build a 187,500-square-foot distribution center.

“The proposed development will demolish the existing movie theater and parking and replace it with a large warehouse building with associated loading dock and parking,” engineers wrote in an environmental concept plan submitted to the county in February and revised in April.

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Sterling representatives did not respond to requests for comment this week.

In Columbia, undeveloped land is scarce and difficult to clear, so investors often look for existing commercial sites to redevelop, said Kate Jordan, president of the NAIOP Maryland, the state’s commercial real estate development association.

“It’s easier to tear down than starting from scratch,” Jordan said.

The Howard County industrial broker said the jurisdiction has long been considered desirable for warehouse space due to its close proximity to Washington, D.C., and to Baltimore and its port.

Maryland property records show the firm snapped up the 9-acre property situated behind Snowden Square Shopping Center off of Commerce Center Drive on April 10 for a cool $15,765,000. That’s significantly less than the $26 million Regal Entertainment Group sold it for in 2019. The theater is home to one of Maryland’s only 270-degree screens, which are designed for panoramic viewing experiences.

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Plenty about the movie industry has changed since the Snowden Columbia theater first opened in 1997. Theaters are struggling to attract audiences after viewing habits changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Maryland lawmakers authorized a bill earlier this year to expand Howard County’s liquor laws to include movie theaters in hopes of giving them another way to earn revenue.

Demolishing Columbia Snowden would effectively halve the county’s cinema offerings, leaving just AMC Columbia 14 at the mall.

Still, details of Sterling’s intentions for the 58,000-square-foot theater remain murky.

Environmental concept plans like the one filed for Columbia Snowden are considered preliminary and often change dramatically as they move through the Department of Planning and Zoning’s bureaucratic process.

The agreement between Sterling and its operator Phoenix Theatres Entertainment hints that any redevelopment is still years away.

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Phoenix CEO Phil Zacheretti said his company has a multiyear contract with Sterling to manage the theater, though he declined to specify when it expires. Phoenix is moving forward with improvements to the building. They’ve ordered new exterior signage and added new LED lights to the parking lot, he said.

Phoenix is also offering audiences competitive deals, such as a popcorn bucket that comes with unlimited refills and a free matinee showing three times a week during summer.

For now at least, cinephiles can sink into Columbia Snowden’s recliner seats and enjoy new releases like “Thunderbolts,” “Sinners,” “The Accountant 2″ and “A Minecraft Movie.”

“This theater is going to be open for business for the foreseeable future,” Zacheretti said. “We are planning to be here a while.”