The city has agreed to purchase the Monarch Theatre, which it intends to sell to another buyer. The transaction avoids losing the property to the province after current owner, the City Centre Development Agency, voted last month to dissolve.--NEW FILE PHOTO
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
The City of Medicine Hat has purchased the Monarch Theatre – in part to recoup an unpaid portion of its 2009 loan to the City Centre Development Agency to buy the downtown landmark.
It also avoids a complex legal limbo, which may have seen the main assets of the soon-to-dissolve downtown business improvement area become property of the province, officials told the media following council’s Monday meeting.
The stated intent is to find a buyer – something councillors and administrators say was not possible for the CCDA, which will cease to exist June 30 – but it’s not yet known how or who may operate it in the mean time.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty about what the future’s going to look like for it, but having a stable owner was the main intent,” said council’s representative to the legally independent CCDA, said Coun. Kris Samraj, who introduced the sales item Monday.
Comment from the CCDA board, which was set to release a “request for proposals” this week toward a theatre sale, was not available by press time.
According to city documents, the selling price of $145,000 in cash was made in an offer the city states was accepted earlier in the day by the CCDA board.
City administrators have same “due diligence” to complete on June 22 (today), and the deal will close on June 25.
From the city’s perspective, the gross sales amount is $205,000, including $60,000 outstanding from the $200,000 loan forwarded by the city to purchase the theatre 13 years ago.
The cash comes from the city’s infrastructure fund, and any operating costs, stated as “insurance and utilities, etc.” will be added to general city expenses.
Mayor Ted Clugston says the city has no intention to operate the theatre long term, but it could be a vital piece of the current “Waterfront District” revitalization plans, and the city would prefer a local group operate or buy it.
As for the apparent rush, tight timelines meant the city had to act, said Clugston.
“If anyone has a better plan, I’d like to hear it,” he told reporters. “It’s nine days away. (A private citizen) can’t buy a house in nine days.”
Two thirds of CCDA members who voted in a May referendum voted to dissolve the 40-year-old body that collected a levy from downtown business operators, not landlords, to pay for staff and events to promote the city’s core.
However, controversy often dogged the group, sometimes revolving around the theatre itself. Certain stakeholders argued operating a theatre was a money-loser and outside the CCDA’s mandate, while others criticized theatre management for operational decisions.
In the end, the sale could present a windfall for current CCDA members.
Dissolution legislation calls for any liabilities left over from a wind-up of business to be recovered via apportioned tax on members.
Clugston said the city is examining if any assets could be distributed the same way.
No levy will be charged this year as the dissolution date aligns with the collection date of June 30.
