As officials gave their remarks about the project, earth was being moved by heavy equipment to make way for the 12-screen, 1,000-seat theater.

“It looks like Showbiz found a good place to sell popcorn and so I guess they decided to build a theater here,” Councilman Joe Jenkins said. “This is a great day in Waxahachie because you can see and hear progress moving forward. I’m glad to be living here.”

The theater is slated to open in May and will offer patrons several new features, including digital picture and sound and stadium seating. The Showbiz location has six other sites for future retail development.

“With this new theater, it will be a great opportunity to open up the (U.S. Highway) 287 corridor and will draw a lot of people here,” Crepe Myrtle Enterprises representative Gary Witherspoon said. “When we have the theater complete, maybe we can have a nice restaurant or two on the site.”

Showbiz will be located on the north side of Broadhead Road at the intersection of Business Highway 287. The theater includes more than four different lots totaling about 18 acres.

“It was around 8:30 last night that the final plat was approved by the council for this project. You know, when Clyde (Melick, director of planning) told me that a theater was looking to locate to Waxahachie, I was a little skeptical about it,” city manager Paul Stevens said. “But, once we got going on the project, I knew that they were very serious about it and the location they have picked is great. They are across the street from the sports complex and are near a neighborhood. There is a lot of synergy here.”