Slowly but surely, demolition begins at Krikorian site

Heavy equipment begins to take down sections of the Krikorian theater walls. (Staff photo)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

A process that is expected to take several weeks began on Friday as a crew began demolishing the Krikorian theater walls that have stood unfinished for the last six years.

The Krikorian Entertainment Complex was first announced in 2014 and was designed to include a 12-screen movie theater, a bowling alley, sports bar and family entertainment center. Within the next two years, George Krikorian purchased additional property in Menifee Town Center to build retail buildings fronting Newport Road. But soon, it will be nothing more than a pile of rubble that crews will haul away, leaving a lot as vacant as it was 11 years ago.

The project began slowly Friday morning with the removal of overhead power lines and the arrival of a water source to keep the dust down. By early afternoon, a crew of workers from AD Improvements, Inc. with heavy equipment began slowly removing small chunks of walls made of foam, concrete and rebar.

The sight might not be too exciting for residents waiting for a wrecking ball or explosives, but it is clear that this demolition project will not be completed overnight.

“It’s going to be a process,” said City of Menifee public information officer Phil Southard at the site on Friday afternoon. “They’re figuring out the best ways to get in there and work through the different structures. The key priority is making sure it’s done in the right way. This is going to be ongoing for the next few weeks.”

In November 2024, AD Improvements, Inc. was awarded the demolition contract for $231,100, the lowest of nine bids submitted by contractors. That ended more than a year of legal battles that began with the City’s declaration of the site as a public nuisance in October 2023. Krikorian appealed demolition orders for both the theater structure and retail buildings but eventually lost both appeals.

At this point, the City of Menifee is paying the cost of demolition and will pursue reimbursement from Krikorian – which could be yet another lengthy process. For the time being, city officials are simply pleased that the eyesore is being removed.

"We’re definitely happy to see this is finally happening,” Southard said.

Even though Krikorian lost the battle to have the structures demolished, he remains the owner of the property and stated in court documents that he is trying to sell. In documents filed last August in Riverside Superior Court, Krikorian declared that he had a purchase agreement with United Growth Capital, LLC, but United Growth canceled escrow on Aug. 6. United Growth reportedly planned a similar type of entertainment complex, but at this point the type of business that will eventually occupy that space is unknown.

Krikorian began construction on the project in 2019 but halted the project in April 2020 during the COVID pandemic. Saying he lost necessary funding and citing a halt in the production of movies, Krikorian left the project site vacant for the next 4 ½ years. Complicating the situation was a lawsuit filed against him from contractors who claimed they were not paid for their portion of the work.

As the years passed, residents continued to mock the project on social media, many blaming the City Council even though a private property matter was out of its control. At one point, someone broke into the fenced-off site and painted a large portion of the wall with graffiti. On Jan. 6, 2024, fire destroyed one of the two retail structures, making the site look even worse.

So even though the frustration continues for those who look back at a failed project and see an uncertain future ahead, there is something happening in Menifee Town Center. At the moment, that’s the only satisfaction that can be had.