Developers, Promoter Vie to Buy Theater

The Ventura Theatre, with its aging chandeliers sparkling above guitar-grinding punk bands, is the centerpiece of a cultural clash.

On one side are the music promoters who have leased the theater since 1997, putting on acts that mainly attract a 30-and-younger audience to the former vaudeville house. On the other side: two millionaire real estate developers who want to refurbish the 71-year-old theater and turn it into a higher-brow venue for Broadway musicals, symphonies an--they promis--more rock.

Both sides, the renters and the developers, want to buy the theater. The question is: Who, if anyone, will?

The Ventura Theatre’s owner, a reclusive retired dentist named Angelo Elardo, is asking about $2.8 million for the theater and its adjoining 14,000 square feet of commercial space, sources said.

Robert Antonini, the lead promoter renting the theater from Elardo, has every intention of buying the theater in a few weeks, manager Louie Medina said. But he would not disclose the price.

Developers Larry Janss of Thousand Oaks and Ted Moore plan to submit an offer to Elardo, but their bid falls about $1 million short of his asking price. They continue to look for ways to reach a deal on the property.

One possibility, according to those familiar with their plans, is to buy the entire downtown block where the Chestnut Street theater is located, bounded by Main, Fir and Santa Clara streets, and create a retail and commercial center. The rent for such a complex could repay the cost of buying and renovating the theater.

Medina said he doubts any plans of Janss and Moore will succeed, because Antonini and his partners hav--through their lease agreemen--first crack at buying the building.

“Larry Janss has no legal way of buying this building . . . unless he kicks out the landlord,” Medina said.

Elardo refused to comment for this article. Several of his previous tenants have made down payments on the theater, only to back out of the deal.

Also in the mix is the city of Ventura, which cannot afford to buy the 7,200-square-foot Mediterranean-style theater but still covets it to anchor the eastern end of the downtown cultural district. Without the theater, and the cultural programming it could accommodate, the city’s district would lack a crucial venue for large performances.

“We really see that as being a primary development for the district. It’s really necessary,” said Cultural Affairs Manager Sonia Tower. “It would be hard having a district without it.”

The city would like to pursue the Janss and Moore plan, which was put forth at a City Council meeting in March, Tower said. But there’s not much the city can do except wait and see whether the theater changes hands.

“It’s not really appropriate for the city to step in the midst of a private discussion regarding ownership,” Tower said.

There have been whispers that the city might try to take over the theater, citing eminent domain. Janss and Moore claim that the theater is run-down and “cannibalizing itself” and that the current mix of music playing there is a “divisive and restrictive element.”

Their proposal widens the potential audience and restores a Ventura landmark to glory, they say.

“I think this plan broadly reflects the highest and best use of that building,” Janss said.

Medina, who boasts of the theater’s diverse programming, said arguments that the facility is run-down are ridiculous.

“I can see eminent domain if the building was just sitting here dormant, not being anything but an eyesore. . . . But we’re here, and we’re working,” he said.

Janss and Moore said they plan to refurbish the theater and expand its programming. They want to overhaul the theater into a 900-seat performing arts center, a smaller, west-county version of the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza. Along with new lighting systems and stage rigging, their plan includes removing two bars that now serve alcohol to concertgoers.

But their proposal represents what Medina sees as the downside of Ventura’s downtown renaissance.

He predicted that the shops and businesses now renting space around the theate--such as a tattoo parlor and used-clothing stor--would be forced out by the developers’ high-end project.

“[Janss] would kick everybody out and probably put in, like, the Gap and these big franchise stores,” Medina said.

The nonprofit Thousand Oaks-based Gold Coast Performing Arts Assn. would oversee operation of the theater once the developers acquired it, according to their proposal. Janss founded the association, and Moore serves on its board.

The commercial space alongside the theater and fronting Main Street would be remodeled for upscale retail space, and a two-story 7,000-square-foot parking lot addition would be built. A courtyard, which would house shops, at least one restaurant and offices for Ventura County arts groups, would be carved out within the complex.

All those changes would cost more than $6 million, in addition to the cost of acquiring the building, the developers estimate. Renovating the theater alone would cost nearly $4 million.

“It’s in pretty bad shape. It needs quite a bit of work,” Janss said.

He and Moore think they could turn a profit on the 21,000 square feet of expanded commercial space, but foresee no financial gain from the theater alone. The theater would need a $5-million endowment to stay afloat, the investors estimate.

Antonini and those who run Ventura Theatre say the wealthy investors are trying to trample Ventura’s youthful, seat-of-the-pants music scene. They also contend that there is no audience in Ventura for Broadway musicals, plays and symphonies. And if there is such an audience, they say, they will cater to it when they buy the theater.

“Why do we need this person coming over the hill trying to buy the theater when we have plans to do the same thing?” Medina asked.

Janss said his plans for the theater would not eliminate rock concerts at the site. In his proposal to the city, contemporary, pop, country and rock would make up 23% of the theater’s programming.

“The operators of the Ventura Theatre have clearly demonstrated a market for rock and roll. There’s nothing in our plan that precludes good old rock and roll,” Janss said. “All our plan does is open the theater up to more markets.”

Janss noted that about 25 years ago he and a group of friends leased and operated a concert hall and movie house in Venice that over the years attracted such acts as Bonnie Raitt, Oingo Boingo and the Jerry Garcia Band.

Furthermore, in looking at the mailing lists and subscriber rosters of Ventura County’s arts groups, Janss said he found more-than-sufficient interest from Ventura residents.

“Our statistics . . . show that there is a vibrant audience for musical plays and for symphonies and an emerging audience for dance,” he said.

Tower agreed that many Venturans are traveling outside their city for entertainment.

“Literally millions of entertainment and culture dollars . . . are going out of this city and into Santa Barbara,” she said. “We do know that there’s a healthy interest and participation in these sorts of programs and activities. We just have not had the venue prior to this time.”

Janss said Ventura County arts groups are eager to bring their offerings to the Ventura Theatre, so long as some changes are made.

“The arias,” he said, “cannot compete with the margarita blenders.”