Premiere Cinemas is set to move forward with opening a luxury movie theater on Lakeshore Parkway pending approval from the Birmingham City Council on needed road improvements.

The Texas-based movie theater company is expected to generate $2.5 million in taxes to the city over 10 years and hire up to 60 workers over the next five years, according to the city.

Premiere Cinemas is asking the city to build an access drive from Lakeshore Parkway to the former Carmike Cinema site at 500 Commons Drive to give it better visibility. That work is projected to cost up to $400,000.

The budget and finance committee of the Birmingham City Council approved the project at its regular meeting Monday afternoon. The full council is expected to vote on the road funding at its April 17 meeting.

Gary Moore, president and CEO of Premiere Companies, said if the city approves the roadway, then the company will move forward with purchasing the property from Point of Grace Ministries.

Construction could start as early as June, he said. The theater could open in late 2018 or early 2019.

The theater will be the first in the Birmingham metro area to have reclining seats with swivel trays and electric-powered footrests. Branded Premiere LUX, the theater would have an arcade, Premiere's signature Pizza Pub, an upscale cafe featuring Starbucks and a full bar with auditorium service. At least one screen will be large-format similar to IMAX.

"We recognize this as a hole in the market that would serve an underserved area," Moore said.

Birmingham City Councilor Jay Roberson, who represents this area, said the Lakeshore and Oxmoor Valley area is in need of family entertainment.

"It will be a great amenity for citizens in this part of Birmingham," he said, adding a lot of young families, millennials and college students live in this area.

Moore said the theater building is outdated and needs to be gutted.

The Carmike Theater off Lakeshore Parkway, branded Wynnsong Cinemas, closed in 2008. The theater building was sold to Point of Grace Ministries for $2.8 million.

In a previous interview with AL.com, Jim Zehr, director of real estate for Carmike Cinemas, said the site off Lakeshore Parkway wasn't the best spot for a movie theater. "It wasn't located in an easy-to-get-to spot," he said.

Roberson said Point of Grace Ministries hasn't been using the theater building for two to three years.

When asked why Premiere wanted to take on this project, Moore said his company gets excitement out of figuring out ways to recreate theaters or facilities that haven't worked well for others.

"In this case, I felt like the solutions were very identifiable, if we could improve the visibility, the access to the property, we would have a better chance of succeeding whereas otherwise, it's my view, it was probably destined to fail from the day it opened by the way it was conceived and designed," Moore said.

In Alabama, Premiere Cinemas operates theaters in Bessemer, Gadsden, Spanish Fort and soon in Pell City.