A planning application has been filed for the now rundown Prince Theatre in Birkirkara to be restored and turned into a gymnastics studio.

Situated in a narrow street off Birkirkara's Valley Road, the Prince Theatre was once a destination which delighted crowds throughout the golden age of cinema in the 20th century. After the theatre shut its doors, it was used as a storage and prop-making venue for one of Birkirkara's band clubs, but has since fallen into disrepair.

It went up for sale last June, with the asking price for the building being set at €850,000.

The plans for the building first and foremost include its restoration. The façade would be restored and remain at the same height as the present day, according to elevation drawings filed with the Planning Authority.

A basement level will be excavated, and the plans show that it will include a lap pool and an area for ice baths and two saunas, along with dressing rooms and bathrooms.

The ground floor will include a reception and will otherwise be solely dedicated to workout space, with 147.75 square metres earmarked for this purpose.

The theatre's first floor level - which back in the day was essentially a balcony for patrons - will be expanded: the space which used to be the theatre's auditorium will remain exposed to those on the first floor, meaning that they'll be able to look down onto the workout space.

53 square metres on the first floor will be dedicated to "cardio space", while there will then be an outdoor terrace on the roof together with an 81 square metre recording studio space.

The application has been filed by Luxus Properties Ltd, with Leanne Bartolo being listed as the representative.

Bartolo is a well-known figure in the fitness community: she is a two-time former WFF European Bikini champion and the owner and head coach of Warehouse.mt - a functional fitness franchise with two gyms, one in Gżira, and one in Campus Hub in Msida.

The planning process is still in its early stages, with several entities still to offer their views on the plans for the site.

Thought to have opened its doors in the late 1920s, the Prince was the first of four cinema theatres to open in Birkirkara.

The Roxy - the façade of which still exists a short distance away from the Prince - was opened in 1931, while the Metropole, which featured both a panoramic screen and a retractable roof, was opened in around 1954.

A smaller cinema theatre and dance hall called the Ritz was meanwhile situated on John Borg Street - it closed its doors around the late 1960s.

The competition and the entry of discos and clubs into fashion as social outings brought hard times, and the Prince suffered the brunt of it. It closed for some months in 1970 but reopened, but not for too long, as it shut its doors permanently as a cinema in around 1974.

The remaining cinemas soon followed its fate: the Metropole shut its doors in January 1979 and is now a light fittings shop, while the Roxy shut up shop as a cinema in 1968 and was then turned into a bar hall and continued to operate until around 1986.

The Roxy's art-deco style indoor area, which used to seat 800 patrons in its heyday, was demolished a couple of years ago to be replaced by an office and retail complex. Only its façade, also built in the artdeco style, remains.