City manager: Patience 'wearing thin' with theater project

The Krikorian Theater project, called a "blight" by a city council member, has looked this way for almost a year. (File photo)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

In case you’re wondering, Menifee’s city manager is as tired as you are of the elephant in the room – the sagging walls of the Krikorian Theater project in Menifee Town Center.

As the foam framing blocks continue to lean even more at a construction site that has been abandoned for almost a year, city officials have tried to ease the concerns of residents. The forms have not been filled with concrete and wouldn’t cause damage if they fell, they say. The site is fenced off, they say. It is monitored by engineers, they say.

But a comment from the newest Menifee City Council member may have triggered a more dramatic response from the City. At the Jan. 20 City Council meeting, council member Bob Karwin called the project a “blight” and requested some sort of City response to the problem through code enforcement.

Asked this week for comment, City Manager Armando Villa told Menifee 24/7, “That was a comment that was not necessarily direction to staff, but yes, my patience is wearing thin. We have to push George [Krikorian] to fix this.

“It’s an aesthetic issue. Code enforcement would treat it the same as the vacant Smart & Final building. We need to start pushing them on that, too.

“Until now, the Krikorian site hasn’t been a health and safety issue. It’s strictly aesthetic. But I’m getting the sense that the patience of council members is wearing thin, too.”

Villa said he knows the challenges Krikorian has had in maintaining financing for the project. He said that Krikorian began with three funding sources: His own cash, a bank loan, and funding approved by the PACE program (Permitting Architecture, Construction & Engineering) through the Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG). But as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened, cuts in the PACE program had a disastrous effect.

“George lost probably 60 percent of his funding,” Villa said. “He’s been talking to banks for another funding source. He keeps telling us the financing is coming along. But I’m starting to hear more and more from residents about the project, and we want it to move forward.”

Krikorian did not respond to an interview request from Menifee 24/7. So what can be done about a problem many residents consider to be an eyesore and city officials consider to be damaging to Menifee’s economic image?

Villa said city officials could push to have the walls turn down until such time that construction can start over. He said they could also consider things like trees or some structure to block view of the walls from Newport Road – Menifee’s main thoroughfare.

At the same time, Villa said he is concerned about the future of the film and theater industries, which have taken a huge hit during the pandemic.

“Even if the theater is finished, there aren’t movies to show,” he said. “I can see where George isn’t in a hurry to finish a building that has no product to sell.”

The Krikorian project, first announced in the spring of 2014, is supposed to include a bowling alley and sports bar in addition to the theater complex. Krikorian expanded the theater plans to include 16 screens, with luxury seating and food options, and he purchased additional land for more retail space. It is an entertainment venue many have hoped for, but now wonder whether it will ever happen.

Construction continues on a separate project that is scheduled to include a Sprout’s Market, Olive Garden and other businesses. The Fairfield Inn & Suite by Marriott opened last year, and hundreds of homes have been completed on the back side of the Menifee Town Center property.

The status of a project that was billed as the anchor of the center remains uncertain, but it may be reaching the point where city officials will try to force the issue.

In an interview with Menifee 24/7 last August, Krikorian said he is not pulling out of the project. At the same time, he expressed concern about proceeding under the current conditions.

“Theaters are closed and have been since March,” Krikorian said in that interview. “If you have a theater that was operating in March, you’ve just spent the last five months with zero revenue coming in. How many businesses can afford to go five months with no revenue? You’ve got payments, all the things you have to pay for.

“You have loans and obligations with no revenue. Unfortunately, a lot of businesses aren’t going to re-open because they can’t sustain months with negative losses. Why should we take that risk?”

Stay tuned.