A half-acre movie multiplex may be coming to the east side of Casper.

Movie Palaces, Inc., the same company that owns the downtown and Eastridge Mall movie theaters, filed a site plan with the city on Friday for the new theater, said Associate City Planner Craig Collins.

It will be east of Home Depot on the north side of 2nd Street near I-25.

The movie-plex plan will be reviewed by city officials for four weeks before the Planning and Zoning Commission will either approve or reject the project.

Collins said the plan will be sent to other departments in the city for their approval and recommendations. After all recommendations are collected, the planning office will meet with the applicants and begin negotiations.

There are no design guidelines in the area and limited landscaping requirements, but Collins said city staff will think about what the building will look like from Interstate 25.

"Since this has interstate frontage, we will want to make sure it doesn't look like a big blank wall, but all design standards are negotiable," he said.

Collins didn't know if 24,000 square feet was large for a movie theater, but the parking lot, measuring roughly 3.3 acres, he said is fairly large.

The building is not large enough to require approval from the Casper City Council, and if the Planning and Zoning Commission approves it during its meeting on Jan. 22, Movie Palaces can begin building.

Contact city reporter Christine Robinson at (307) 266-0639 or christine.robinson@trib.com