KALAMAZOO, MI --

A new movie theater to

could be announced "in a matter of weeks," as details of a lease with the property owner are being negotiated, according to an official involved.

"We have not finalized all the details, so I'm not at liberty to speak in any kind of detail about who it is, but there certainly will be a new operator in place," said Brian Moriarty, vice president of corporate communications for Kansas City, Mo.-based EPR Properties, formerly Entertainment Properties Trust. "We would expect it to be in the spring when it’s reopened. It will close down for a period of time while it transfers to a new operator and then it will be reopened with the new operator in place."

Rave likely will operate the theater until January, when it will close for renovations, he said.

Moriarty said his company is "very close and very confident" a deal with a new theater company will be finalized. He would not say whether the theater operator already exists in the Kalamazoo-area market.

"We’re excited to have a new operator in place and obviously it will provide an enhanced experience," Moriarty said. "We look forward to being able to continue to be in that location with the new operator and be able to provide a great venue."

DKI confirmed Monday that plans by Rave Motion Pictures to leave its downtown Kalamazoo location had been in place for six to eight months.

"They can't tell us who the new operator is, however, we know that the new operator is bringing in a new concept to film watching and that it will be a unique experience," said Vicky Kettner, community relations director for Downtown Kalamazoo Inc.

Rave Cityplace 14, featuring digital projection on 10 of its screens and 2,900 seats, opened in November 2006 at the corner of South and Portage streets in downtown Kalamazoo.

Kettner said downtown's entertainment district feeds off and is closely tied to the success of the movie theater.

"It's important for everyone to know that we're not going to miss, we're not going to lose out on a presence of having a movie house downtown," Kettner said. "That news, that's exciting. If it was a failing opportunity, if there wasn't an opportunity, these people wouldn't be there."

Moriarty said Kalamazoo will have "an outstanding new venue in place" once renovations are complete. He would not say why Rave decided to leave the Kalamazoo market.

"Each operator has its own business decisions they have to make relevant to the circumstances," Moriarty said. "It’s operator dependent and it’s site dependent. That’s a unique business decision you have to make for every location. We obviously feel very strong about the location and its viability."

Doug Willmarth, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Rave Cinemas, said Monday that Rave's lease is up at the end of November. The theater has the option to close as early as Nov. 25 or could continue to operate until January, he said.

“We’ll continue to operate the movie theater and welcome guests until we can’t do that anymore,” Willmarth said.

Willmarth said the company has been “trying to work through it and find a better option” than closing the Kalamazoo location.

Kettner said Rave, which operates 62 theaters across the country, is going through "a kind of corporate restructuring."

The L.A. Times reported in October that Columbus, Ga.-based Carmike Cinemas would buy 16 theaters from Rave, including locations in Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas.

Emily Monacelli is a local government reporter for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Contact her at emonacel@mlive.com. Follow her on Twitter.

MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette reporter John Liberty contributed to this report.