TROY – The City Council has approved a contract allowing the city to sell 1 Monument Square for development of an $18 million movie theater project that's forecast to bring 10,000 people downtown when it opens in late 2018.

The City Council voted 7-1 Thursday night to pass the land development agreement for the 1.6-acre site with BTP Monument Square LLC. The city will receive $600,000 for the lot where City Hall was once located.

Bow Tie Cinemas will own the nine theaters, which will be built by Bonacio Construction. Bow Tie operates movie theaters in downtown Saratoga Springs and Schenectady as well as in the town of Wilton in the Capital Region.

Mayor Patrick Madden touts the project as a way to draw people into a downtown that's seen an increase in restaurants and retail in recent years.

Councilman John Donohue, a Republican, pointed to Bow Tie's success in downtown Saratoga Springs and downtown Schenectady as an indicator of future success for the theaters in downtown Troy.

Councilman Robert Doherty, the Democrat whose council district includes 1 Monument Square, said he had concerns about the impact the theaters would have on the downtown parking. Doherty said after meeting with Madden and Deputy Mayor Monica Kurzejeski he was confident that parking issues would be addressed.

Republican Councilman Jim Gulli was the only council member to vote against the agreement.

"When I look at the project, I hope it ... succeeds," Gulli said. But, he said he had concerns about the project's presence in downtown and fitting into the historic architecture that defines the city's attractiveness and parking.

The developers now will move on to the city Planning Commission to seek approval for the movie theater proposal. Steven Strichman, the city's commissioner of planning and community development, said the project should be on the commission's June agenda. He said the developers estimated it would take three months for the planning review to be completed. He said the developers would also appear before the Troy Industrial Development Authority in June to apply for tax breaks. Construction is anticipated to begin this fall.

This is the fourth attempt to redevelop the former City Hall site and the first to find success with the city government. The previous three proposals involved apartments and some commercial space.