With plans for the renovation of the Dreamland Theater recently approved by the Historic District Commission, the developers of the restoration project purchased the historic theater last Friday for $6 million.

Dreamland Realty Trust signed a purchase agreement last July with the four families which owned the 175-year-old building. The Anastos, Flanagan, Gray and Ruben families had been asking for $6.5 million, but decided to close with the developers for $6 million, said Liza Ottani, a sales associate with Atlantic East Real Estate.

The developers now plan to begin interior renovations on the theater before opening this spring. After its normal summer schedule of movies, the theater will close in the fall and the major renovation construction will begin.

“The biggest piece that the buyers brought to the table is that they were willing to preserve the theater,” Ottani said. “They were the first group that came to the table and met the desires for maintaining the theater in perpetuity.”

The two public faces of the Dreamland Realty Trust, which will soon be under the new name of Dreamland ZMG LLC, are former state senator Marty Reilly and the President and CEO of Zee Paragon Investments of Boston, Haim Zahavi. They have declined to reveal the names of the other principals of Dreamland Realty Trust.

The group plans to preserve and expand the movie theater, but also convert the first floor of the structure into a multi-purpose performing arts venue with four high-end residential condominium units on the second and third floors. The developers envision a theater that will stay open year-round, and feature theatrical productions, musicals, small concerts, comedy acts, and, of course, the latest box office movies.

The rear of the building will be extended toward Nantucket Harbor to accommodate a new 2,600 square-foot restaurant with views of the Easy Street Basin. To make room for the restaurant, the small parking lot at the back of the property will be reduced to six reserved parking spaces in a crushed shell lot. The mezzanine level of the theater will include a cafe lounge, a bar lounge, a tiered balcony structure as well as a lap pool and two offices.

On March 1, the HDC voted 3-1, with John McLaughlin dissenting and chairman Dirk Roggeveen absent, to approve the design by Ingram Architecture. The plans for the theater must now be approved by the Planning Board and building permits must still be obtained.