The Friends of the Whiteside has its theater.

Regal Entertainment Group has agreed to donate the Whiteside Theatre to the organization, which fought to preserve the historic downtown movie house from redevelopment as a restaurant and retail complex.

“We are honored to have an opportunity to contribute this property to the citizens of Corvallis, who have long supported our theater business in the community,” Regal President and CEO Michael L. Campbell said in a statement announcing the gift.

Regal, headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., is the largest theater operator in the country, with 6,400 screens in nearly 40 states. The company closed the 960-seat Whiteside in January 2002, citing declining ticket sales and a backlog of maintenance issues that included a broken sewer pipe.

Since then, several groups have attempted to purchase the theater at Fourth Street and Madison Avenue, the last single-screen picture palace in Corvallis. But each time the deal fell through.

The latest acquisition effort was abandoned in January after Friends of the Whiteside blocked a redevelopment proposal for the theater at the state Land Use Board of Appeals. Shortly afterward, the organization approached Regal about donating the property.

Friends of the Whiteside plans to restore the 86-year-old theater as a venue for concerts and other live performances as well as meetings, special events and classic films. A restrictive covenant in the deed prohibits the showing of first-run movies to keep the Whiteside from competing with Regal’s four-screen cineplex on Northwest Ninth Street.

Susan Morre, a spokeswoman for Friends of the Whiteside, said the group would now begin fundraising and writing grants to pay for restoration of the theater, which Morre said could be completed as early as mid-2009.

In addition to fixing the leaky sewer line — a major undertaking in itself — a good deal of work remains to be done before the mothballed theater becomes a showplace again. An assessment done shortly after the building closed called for new sound and stage lighting systems, wheelchair-accessible restrooms, an elevator and a modern heating and air conditioning system, among other upgrades.

The cost of restoring the Whiteside has been estimated at $1 million to $1.5 million.

“We would absolutely love to have a big donor step up,” Morre said. “But even small donations from the 50,000 people in this town would go a long way. If everybody gave $20, we’d have $1 million.”

Regal executives could not be reached for comment Monday, so it wasn’t immediately clear why the company agreed to donate the property, which was listed for sale at $650,000.

“I think it was a combination of factors,” Morre said. “They get some great PR and some good tax credits — and the gratitude of 50,000 people, perhaps?”

Local attorney Steven Adkins is working with Regal Entertainment’s legal department on terms of a formal transfer of ownership.

Friends of the Whiteside has applied for federal tax-exempt status for a new entity, the Whiteside Theatre Foundation, which would own and operate the theater. In the meantime, the group has filed articles of incorporation and elected interim officers. Morre is the chairwoman, Louise-Annette Burgess is the vice chairwoman, Jan Harmon is the secretary and Carolyn Ver Linden is the treasurer.

The group plans to schedule a public meeting to celebrate the donation and kick off fundraising efforts to restore the theater. It’s also launching a membership drive with a tiered dues structure to support the restoration project.

“We’re hoping Regal’s gift will be a galvanizing event to make people want to step up and help,” Morre said.

Bennett Hall can be reached at 758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net.

AT A GLANCE

For more information on efforts to restore the Whiteside, visit the Friends of the Whiteside Web site at www.whitesidefriends.org. The group can be contacted at WhitesideTheatre@comcast.net or 753-4234. The mailing address is P.O. Box T, Corvallis, OR 97339.