If this were a movie, tumbleweeds would be rolling through the parking lot at the closed AMC movie theater on Cinema Drive. The deserted facility could be torn down to make way for more than 140 apartments and commercial space if a proposed development becomes a reality.

The RMR Group Inc., an asset management company based in Newton, Massachusetts, and Paramounte Engineering Inc. have submitted site plans to the city of Wilmington for 146 apartments (plus 1 model unit) in eight buildings on the 8.6-acre property at 111 Cinema Drive. The AMC theater on the site, where a neon sign that says "The Movies" still glows inside, closed last year, part of more than 160 AMC theater closings since 2019, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The RMR plans (which include the elevation below) also show the potential for office and first-floor retail space on a site that would be zoned commercial district mixed-use (CDMU). Its website says RMR has 35 offices nationwide that manage nearly $41 billion in assets. The website states the company specializes in commercial real estate and its offices "leverage more than 35 years of institutional experience in buying, selling, financing and operating CRE."

An RMR entity owns the property, according to the site plans. Efforts to reach a representative of RMR for more information on the project were not immediately successful Thursday.

In a statement for RMR's fourth-quarter financial results, president and CEO Adam Portnoy stated, "RMR delivered results that were largely in line with our expectations, underscoring the stability of our platform. RMR's focus remains on executing the strategic priorities for our clients and investing in our platform so we can take advantage of attractive market opportunities ahead.

"With stable recurring revenues and a solid balance sheet with more than $140 million of cash on hand and no corporate debt, RMR is well-positioned to execute on our private capital initiatives that we believe will drive meaningful growth and create long-term value for our shareholders."

If RMR's site plans succeed on Cinema Drive, it won't be the first time a former movie theater site turned into an apartment complex. The Carmike movie theater at 5335 Oleander Drive in Wilmington closed in 2006, and the University of North Carolina Wilmington owned the property until Wilmington-based Swain & Associates bought it 10 years later.

Developers built the Hawthorne at Oleander, a more than 200-unit complex, at 5335 and 5429 Oleander Drive, around 2021, according to property tax records.