It's not just about the wall; Krikorian faces mounting lawsuit

Three views show the increasing "waves" in the unfinished Krikorian Theater wall facing Newport Road. (Staff photos)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

The owner of Krikorian Premiere Theatres said he “is talking to a couple engineers” about a repair job on a wall that appears to be waving like a giant white flag at a Menifee Town Center construction site. Yet even if that largely cosmetic improvement is made, George Krikorian said there is no real update in the status of the city’s most controversial commercial project.

In a phone interview on Monday, Krikorian said that the stagnant state of the film industry and shutdown of most theaters during the COVID-19 pandemic is just as much a factor in the nearly year-long halt to his Menifee project as a loss of funding has been. In addition, he acknowledged the existence of a lawsuit involving his company and at least 12 other parties related to the project.

“I really can’t comment on pending litigation,” Krikorian said about the lawsuit, which was filed last July in Riverside Superior Court. “We have a dispute with a contractor about what’s owed and what is outstanding. That’s all I can say.”

According to court records, the original complaint was filed by Sierra Concrete & Landscaping Inc. of Bellflower against TMS Construction Inc. of Colorado and Showprop Menifee LLC, which was formed by Krikorian in 2015. A series of cross complaints by Showprop Menifee LLC and filings by additional contractors followed, and as of this week, at least 19 separate filings are on record.

The next scheduled court date is April 23 for a case management settlement conference. Details of the many complaints and cross complaints are listed as confidential and not available to the public. The City of Menifee, which does not own the property, is not involved in the litigation.

This is just another of the factors complicating a project designed as the anchor of the Menifee Town Center, located between Newport Road to the north and La Piedra Road to the south, just west of Haun Road. Many residential projects have been completed on the south side of the property, the Fairfield Inn & Suites opened in October, Central Park is open in the middle of the property, and construction along Newport Road and to the west of the theater site will eventually be retail shops, restaurants and a market.

As for the center’s feature attraction? Krikorian said resuming work on his project is dependent upon the uncertain timeline for the return of film production. Krikorian indicated that with no movies being produced and restrictions on the seating capacity for theaters, he is taking a wait-and-see attitude with this project.

“The theater industry has basically been out of business for a year,” Krikorian said. “Not only are theaters shut down, studios are shut down as well. I don’t know if and when they will be releasing new movies.”

Krikorian was asked if he feared that it would never be considered financially feasible to continue with the Menifee theater project.

“I wouldn’t say that,” he replied. “I’m optimistic that at some point, we will be able to continue. There’s just no way to say when.”

In addition, City Manager Armando Villa told Menifee 24/7 in a Jan. 27 news article that Krikorian lost a primary funding source when the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the Western Riverside Council of Governments cutting funding for the project through its PACE (Permitting Architecture, Construction & Engineering) program.

And regarding the sagging main wall to the structure, Krikorian repeated the explanation by city officials in the past that while the sagging wall is not attractive to passersby, it does not pose a safety threat.

Menifee 24/7 reported in this news article last December that the wall “bricks” actually are products designed by a company known as Fox Blocks, which describes on its website that the blocks are “insulated concrete forms” that are strengthened when filled with concrete. It appears, however, that only the bottom layer of blocks was filled before construction halted, meaning the majority of foam blocks are connected but are hollow inside. There is a considerable amount of rebar within the structure,  as well as poles learning against the wall to support it during the delay.

“As the city manager and others have been quoted as saying, the sagging wall does not present any danger to anyone,” Krikorian said. “I understand it doesn’t look good, but no incomplete construction does. The wall has a little curl in one section at the top.”

A reporter informed Krikorian that after strong winds last week, there are now several “curls” in the upper sections of the wall.

“I know the construction fence blew down and we put that back up,” Krikorian said. “We hope to get the wall taken care of soon.”