The following was sent to me and left in the comments:
To: historicwashington@yahoogroups.com
From: scott@scott-roberts.net
Date: Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:25:24 -0800
Subject: [HistoricWashington] H Street Theater property changes hands for 1.1 million
I noticed this commercial real estate transactions entry in the Friday, February 26, 2010 Washington Business Journal -- the landmarked Mott Motors/Plymouth Theater site.
Scott Roberts
H Street Playhouse LLC to Century Theater LLC, 1365 H Street NE, Lot 90 Part of Lot 21 Square 1027, $1,100,000.
5 comments:
The fact that this is a seale between two theater named LLCs suggests this may be an internal sale and not a change of ownership
I'd hate to lose Theater Alliance to someplace outside the neighborhood. Especially since I just started giving them a bunch of money through the Combined Federal Campaign.
Hi all,
Just wanted to clarify some information regarding the sale of the H Street Playhouse.
My parents, Bruce & Adele Robey have owned the H Street Playhouse for about a decade. Last September, my father passed away unexpectedly. Following that, our family needed to simplify as much as possible and try and liquidate some cash to cover the costs of hospitalization and other costs incurred. My mother spent 5 months negotiating a deal with the buyers (and I should note that one of the new owners lives right off H Street) that would ensure that space remain a theater for the foreseeable future. To that end, she set up a contract to lease the space back from the new owners for the next 3 years, and escrowed 3 years of monthly rent and property taxes (from the proceeds of the sale) to pay for that leaseback. That said, while she no longer owns the actual building, Theater Alliance and Forum Theatre will remain resident theater companies and the space will still function as always - being rented out to local theater and performing arts troupes.
This was a very difficult decision for my family, given our history with the space and the street, but there were really no alternatives. We both feel that it was done in the best way possible to ensure that there would be little/no disruption to our local theater community (and its supporters).
The new owners truly understand the importance of the local performing arts scene and the Playhouse's role in that. We are both confident that the new owners will continue to operate the theater in the same way for years to come.
If anyone has any other questions, please feel free to email me directly at champs@capitolhill.org.
Thanks so much,
Julia Robey Christian
All: This is Adele Robey and I have just completed of the Playhouse sale. It is not an "internal" sale, it is a building sale. The new owners are choosing to become theater people (thus their name) and will be working hard to develop a sustainable model for the theater. Please know that there will be absolutely no change at the Playhouse for at least 3 years which is the time I will be in the lease back situation. The name H Street Playhouse LLC is mine and will continue as the rental agent for the space. Bruce and I had tried hard to negotiate this sort of deal so that H Street would not be in danger of losing its dynamic small theater space. Theater Alliance will be there for the foreseeable future (and thank you so much for your donation, anonymous). And although Forum Theatre has moved to Silver Spring where the rent is free, we now have Scena Theatre on a regular basis, Madcap Players, Restoration Stage, a new theater company called No Rules Theatre and others. Coming later this year we hope to add exciting open mic nights on the off-nights, and more music. We are here to stay.
Adele Robey
arobey@fusemail.com
Thanks Julia and Adele for responding personally to this report. It is clear that you all remain dedicated to the playhouse and the neighborhood.
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