The asking price is $2.5 million. Fuller and Co. brokers Trevor Brown and Rye Austin are handling the sale.
The Art Moderne building, constructed in 1953, was designed by local architect John. K. Monroe for producer/philanthropist Helen G. Bonfils. It was renamed for Henry Lowenstein in 1985 for his 30 years of producing shows there.
The final curtain came down in 1986. In the early 1990s the property was formally placed on the market. While that listing generated considerable interest at the time, it produced no buyers.
"It has always been our hope that a theatre could remain on the site," says Bonfils Foundation Secretary/Treasurer Lester Ward. "But we must be realistic. A new project there may have a much more positive influence on the economy of the neighborhood."
The 37,000-sf building has two theatres - a 550-seat auditorium and a 100-seat cabaret theatre. Additionally, the site, which is 66,000 sf, has considerable parking. However, every system in the building needs to be updated or replaced, including the roof and heating, air-conditioning and electrical systems.
The building is zoned R-3 which, ironically, does not allow for commercial theatre use, but includes such uses by right as a public library, police or fire station, church, community center and schools.
Fuller and Co. is working with the Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods association to determine if a zoning change is possible in order to explore potential buyers who would retain the building as a theatrical venue. With that in mind, the real estate agents will approach area theatre groups and churches as a first step in identifying such buyers.
In addition, they are also exploring a variety of potential new uses for the site, including commercial possibilities that could revive the area.
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