No movement on theater, retail project -- except on paper

The partial theater walls can be seen in the background behind unfinished retail buildings. (File photo)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Although the Krikorian Theater and retail business site has remained unchanged for more than 2 ½ years, City of Menifee officials say the retail portion of the project is still active in the planning stages at City Hall. According to officials, owner George Krikorian is working with the City to move forward in resuming construction at the corner of Menifee Town Center.

“City staff is continuing to work with Krikorian to finalize the phasing plan to advance the project,” said Phil Southard, public information officer for the City. “Currently, additional engineering work related to drainage and traffic is being conducted by the applicant to phase the project and will require some additional time to complete.”

There is no update on the theater site itself, which sits vacant except for partial walls made of foam blocks. Krikorian isn't talking, and current plan checks involve only the retail building site.

The Kirkorian theater project was first officially announced in May 2014. Originally, Krikorian purchased property and began developing plans solely for an entertainment complex including 12 theater screens, a bowling alley, sports bar and family entertainment center. Within the next two years, he purchased additional property in Menifee Town Center to build retail buildings fronting Newport Road.

Krikorian broke ground for the theater in early 2019 but halted construction in April of 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, Krikorian said he has lost funding to resume construction. Additionally, he is involved in a lawsuit with contractors who maintain they were not paid for materials delivered to the site.

Showprop Menifee LLC – a company formed by Krikorian in 2015 – was named as a respondent in a complaint filed in November 2020 by Sierra Concrete & Landscaping, stating it was owed for services performed and materials purchased. A series of cross complaints by Showprop Menifee LLC and filings by additional contractors followed, according to court records.

Some of those complaints have been vacated, but the lawsuit remains active. A jury trial is scheduled for June.

At the request of city officials seeking an update, Krikorian appeared before the City Council in October 2021 and gave a report that contained virtually no new information, saying, “Right now is not the time to move forward.” He repeated his previously stated belief that a lack of production of first-release films and poor attendance at local theaters “does not support the economic viability of completing the project at this time.” He did not say whether he had secured any of the funding needed to resume the theater project at some point.

Krikorian said at that time that he remains committed to the project and will eventually see it through to completion.

“I’ve invested probably $20 million in this project,” he said. “People have suggested I’m not committed to the project, but I think that number is evidence that I am.”

The only movement since then has been correspondence between Krikorian and the City to address unresolved issues in the planning process with the retail sites along Newport Road. In the interim, the City's Code Enforcement Department has issued four violations and 11 administrative citations regarding the poor condition of the property, said Menifee Police Captain Dave Gutierrez.

Meanwhile, a longtime associate of Krikorian told Menifee 24/7 he is owed thousands of dollars for time and money he spent on the site after its closure, guarding the area and dealing with contractors attempting to deliver or recover building materials.

Ty Richie said he has worked for Krikorian in supervising many of his projects in the past and always had a good working relationship. He said he and Krikorian had a handshake agreement for Richie to stay on the Menifee theater site about four hours a day following the project shutdown. Richie was to provide security for the site and meet any contractors who showed up.

Richie said he spent about $30,000 of his own money on fencing and other materials before leaving the position several months ago. He said Krikorian still owes him about $20,000 of that amount, plus any salary owed.

“This blows me away,” Richie said. “We’ve been friends and I’ve been his employee on and off for 20 years. I can’t believe what he’s doing to me.

“When he shut things down April 1 (2020), George called and told me the bank was pulling his funds. I learned later that the funds were his and that he hadn’t finishing shopping financing when the pandemic hit. He wanted me to work for him and make sure nobody put another penny into the project by working out there.

“George is pretty good about dangling the carrot, and he’s won a few lawsuits on theaters that never opened.”

Krikorian did not return messages seeking comment.