Fresno church to take legal action on ‘financially reckless’ purchase of Tower Theatre

The Adventure Church on Wednesday responded to the city’s decision to purchase the historic Tower Theatre, calling it “one of the most financially reckless decisions in the history of the City of Fresno.”

In a statement from its lawyer, the church said it was “extremely disappointed, but not surprised, with the reckless decision” to spend “millions of taxpayer dollars to interfere with a private contract.”

Last week, the City Council voted 4-3 to buy the property, in a multi-layered $6.5 million deal that includes the theater, Sequoia Brewery and Me-n-Ed’s.

This comes more than a year after it became public that Adventure Church was slated to buy the building.

That sale was met with controversy and community protests and ultimately halted by a series of legal battles between the theater’s owner and tenants. In February, the church itself filed suit against the owners, claiming they broke their agreement to sell.

In its statement, the church said it has now been forced to pursue litigation against the Tower Theatre, Sequoia Brewery and the city of Fresno and will file an amended complaint for damages against all three. It will also immediately seek a preliminary injunction to stop the purchase, the statement said.

‘Windfall’ for theater owners

The church described the deal as “a multi-million dollar windfall” for the Tower Theatre owners.

Indeed, much of the debate in last Thursday’s council vote revolved around the details of the deal, including whether the city was overpaying for the theater (by as much as $1.5 million) and whether the city would indemnify the theater owners and Sequoia Brewery from litigation related to the sale.

According to the church, the city’s deal would also give the theater’s most public owner, Laurence Abbate, $8,000 a month to continue managing the theater.

With its vote, the city injected itself “into Adventure Church’s ability to serve the community,” the statement said. And it did so based on “the misplaced vitriol of a small group of misinformed community activists.”

Protests will continue

Adventure Church has continually painted the sale as a culture war, though during public comment before the vote last week, a number of other Fresno clergy, including some that serve inside the Tower District, urged the City Council to approve the purchase so the community would feel safe. Pastor Raygan Baker told the council the sale would re-affirm the LGBTQ community and the city’s decision last year to raise the Pride flag at City Hall.

Rev. Tim Kutzmark said the Tower community has made clear that it doesn’t feel loved by Adventure Church.

The Fools Collaborative, which has led the organized protests outside the theater, said it will continue protesting each week while monitoring city officials’ actions.

This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 11:35 AM.