The popular CineArts movie theater in Palo Alto — a mainstay for lovers of independent film on the mid-Peninsula — has permanently closed, five years after hundreds of community members rallied to save it.

The announcement by parent company Cinemark Theatres follows the long COVID-19 shutdown and previous tussles over the fate of the theater, which is tucked into the Palo Alto Square office complex at El Camino Real and Page Mill Road.

Cinemark “does not make this decision lightly,” the statement said, noting that the pandemic’s impact on movie theaters “resulted in economic hardships and unintended consequences.”

But there still could be a big screen in this site’s future.

As part of the community plan to build Palo Alto Square in 1969, the city required the developer to include a community benefit. Mayor Tom DuBois said Tuesday in an interview that he is hopeful city officials can work with the owner, Hudson Pacific Properties, to attract a new theater tenant.

For former councilwoman Karen Holman — who was instrumental in the 2016 campaign to save the theater — CineArts’ closure represents the “huge loss” of a “community cultural resource” for many in Palo Alto.

“We’ve lost so many theaters, so it’s a diminishing resource that’s really important to keep,” she said.

In 2016, when closure loomed, community outcry and a 2,500-signature petition resulted in an agreement among Cinemark and Hudson Pacific to keep the two-screen theater open while improvements were made to the building and the property.

Holman got involved with that effort in part because she wanted to preserve the Palo Alto she remembers after moving there in 1975. Back then, Holman said there were lots of theaters in the city, including the Bijou, the Festival, the Aquarius and the Stanford.

“We’ve lost so many theaters, so it’s a diminishing resource that’s really important to keep,” Holman said. “It was kind of a no-brainer to be involved in trying to save it and we were successful. This time we didn’t have the time to organize.”

The closure leaves Palo Alto with just two movie houses: The Aquarius on Emerson Street, a first-run theater that shows independent films, and the Stanford on University Avenue, which shows classic movies. Both have been closed temporarily during the pandemic. Menlo Park’s last theater, the Guild, closed in late 2019.

CineArts was beloved by patrons for not just its screenings of indie, foreign and first-run films, but also for its convenience. The location among offices with standard Monday through Friday workweeks meant there was always plentiful parking in the adjacent structure on nights and weekends.

Parent company Cinemark operates dozens of screens throughout the Bay Area, including the Century multiplexes in Mountain View, Redwood City, San Mateo and Tanforan. The company shuttered its San Francisco/West Portal theater, CineArts at the Empire, in February. The CineArts at Santana Row in San Jose remains open.

If a theater doesn’t go into the Palo Alto Square space, DuBois said he is curious to hear from Hudson company officials about what ideas they have for future tenants. When asked if the city would propose financial backing for a new theater to locate at Palo Alto Square, DuBois said he doesn’t think the council will go for it.

A future use there is “to be determined” by the council, DuBois said. “My hope is we can work together and attract something that will be a benefit to the community.”

It’s clear to DuBois that the community is invested in the theater, so he wants to attract companies like Texas-based Alamo Drafthouse — which focuses on renovating small movie theaters — to revamp the property and offer a new movie-going experience for Palo Altans. Still, DuBois acknowledges how difficult the COVID-19 pandemic has been for movie theaters.

“Right now, theaters haven’t been able to operate for over a year,” DuBois said. “CineArts is a victim of COVID.”