Church files lawsuit against Tower Theatre owners for alleged broken promise to sell building
The Adventure Church has filed a lawsuit against the owners of the Tower Theatre property accusing them of breaking their agreement to sell the historic Tower Theatre to the church.
The church has been holding services inside the 81-year-old theater and was planning to buy the property for $4.8 million until it was met with legal challenges.
In its lawsuit, filed Tuesday, church officials are asking a judge to force the owners of the Tower Theatre to abide by its contract to sell the building.
One of the obstacles blocking the sale is the issue of whether the Sequoia Brewing Company, owned by J&A Mash and Barrel, had the first right of refusal to buy the property.
According to the lawsuit, the church did not become aware of that fact until November 2020 when it was doing its due diligence regarding the proposed sale.
When the church asked, Laurence Abbate, an owner of the theater, about the brewing company’s options of buying the piece of property where the business sits, he said “there was nothing to worry about and that the issue had been addressed,” the lawsuit states.
“AC (Adventure Church) made no further inquiries of this issue as it believed the issue was resolved based on Mr. Abbate’s representations,” according to the lawsuit.
Abbate could not be reached for comment Friday.
However, as escrow began to close on the deal in January 2021, the church learned Abbate “potentially failed to make full disclosure to J&A and/or obtained a waiver from J&A of its potential right to acquire the Brewery...”
On Feb. 16, 2021, J&A sued Tower Theatre Properties in an attempt to block the sale of the theatre to the church. And in January, the 5th District Court of Appeal ruled that the owner of the Tower Theatre acted in bad faith by not revealing its proposed sale price to one of its tenants (J&A).
Still, the sale of the theatre property to the church remains in limbo. Lawyers for the theatre said in court recently that the deal to sell the theatre has expired.
“AC unequivocally disputes the Tower Parties’ statement that the sale of the property is dead. AC is ready, willing and able to complete the purchase of the property and intends to do so,” according to the lawsuit.
The church’s leaders state in the lawsuit that they are open to the idea of allowing J&A Mash and Barrel to buy the property where the brewery is located, if that is what it wants.
The historic theater has been been a flash point of controversy for more than a year, after Adventure Church had plans to purchase the building, where the church has Sunday services.
That set off weekly protests outside the building, as business owners and community activists were worried the church’s purchase would change the character of an area known for its nightlife, arts community and progressive politics.
This story was originally published February 9, 2022 at 12:25 PM.
