Cormony recently agreed to bow out of a $250 million development project on Russell Street, called Gateway South, so Baltimore's only slots casino can be built on the land instead.
Besides opening Miller's Court this year, the Manekins recently received Baltimore Planning Commission approval for another $20 million project, conversion of a historic mill at 1500-1620 Union Ave. in the Jones Falls Valley to affordable housing and commercial space.
Polakoff said he submitted a proposal for the Parkway because he believes its location near the southwest corner of Charles Street and North Avenue makes it key to the revitalization of the 100-acre Station North arts district.
"The future of that district is to a large degree dependent on the corners of North Avenue and Charles Street being stabilized," he said.
Polakoff said his renovation would be designed to "maximize the use of the theater" as a setting for live music and drama, comedy, movies and other performances. The project would also have a food service component open to the community even when the theater is dark.
The Parkway was designed by Oliver B. Wight and patterned after the West End Theatre near Leicester Square in London. The design is in the Louis XIV style and was envisioned as a vaudeville performance house with about 1,100 seats. The theater was acquired in 1926 by the Loews organization and extensively remodeled. It operated as a movie house until it was acquired and closed in 1952 by the Morris Mechanic organization. It reopened in 1956 as the Five West Art Theatre and stayed open until the mid-1970s. In the 1990s, a former owner attempted to open commercial space in the rear orchestra level. The theater has been vacant for more than a decade.
City officials are reviewing the proposals with the goal of selecting one by late September to move ahead with its project.
