posted by Mike Madison at 1:55 PM /
The following press release came my way this morning:
Foundation to Re-open Mt. Lebanon’s Landmark Denis Theatre
Foundation to Re-open Mt. Lebanon’s Landmark Denis Theatre
Mt. Lebanon’s Denis Theatre, which closed four years ago, will reopen with the help of a nonprofit organization that plans to renovate and operate the theater as a film house and community cultural center.
Located in Mt. Lebanon’s central business district, the Denis operated as a movie theater from 1937 to 2004. Film lovers from all over the city mourned the historic theater’s closing, fearing it would be converted to some other use or fall victim to the wrecking ball.
Last year, local entrepreneur and tech CEO, Raja, and his wife, Neeta, purchased the building with the intention of maintaining it as a theater. Raja, who is a Mt. Lebanon Commissioner, will not be involved with the renovation of the theater, however. His main interest is the role the Denis will play in keeping Washington Road a vibrant main street for the region.
“The revitalization of the Denis will be a catalyst to economic development in Mt. Lebanon,” Raja says. Plans call for the theater to reopen as an art house showing independent, foreign language and documentary films. But it also will serve as a venue for lectures, film series, student productions, cultural events and business gatherings. Space may be reconfigured to include a café.
First, however, the theater needs a $3 million renovation. It has suffered from water damage and vandalism. All the systems need replacing, and the equipment and amenities are old and outdated.
Leading the fund-raising effort and overseeing the renovation and day-to-day operations of the theater will be the Denis Theatre Foundation’s Board of Directors, composed of Cheri Acrey, Rich Overmeyer, Joe Senko and Jennifer Smokelin, and the foundation’s new Executive Director, Anne Kemerer. Raja and Neeta have provided a lead gift to the foundation.
The timetable for reopening the Denis depends on the success of future fund-raising. “If we had all of the funds today,” Kemerer says, “we would hope to open in 18 months, but $3 million is a lot of money to raise and construction will proceed as the money becomes available.”
Uptown Business Association President Joe Ravita, owner of Empire Music, expressed his excitement about the plans. “As a second generation Washington Road business owner, I recall long lines of movie goers. That’s what we hope to see again — people, lots of people.” A preview of the theater in its current state is planned for the First Friday in June—June 6 from 6 to 8 p.m. The public is invited. For information, call (412) 56DENIS or go the web site – www.denistheatre.org.
Labels: denis theater
16 Comments:
Great news. I am a bit puzzled as to who owns the property in question. Is it accurate to state that Commissioner Raja will benefit from any public investments or citizen contributions in the Denis Theatre by way of an increased value in the property above his purchase price? Or has Commissioner Raja agreed to place any and all increased value in a trust for the municipality?? Also, is there a conflict of interest for a public official to promote economic development in and around property that they own if they will directly benefit due to increased property values? Or does the municipality own the property now and none of this is a concern? If anyone has some info, please post a reply.
Mike,
Only because I lived through the fund raising effort while I was at school, I wonder if Raja has heard of the efforts in State College to reopen The State Theatre they raised quite a bit of money through several creative techniques and have reopened the theatre for very similar purposes. Unfortunately, I do not personally know anyone who was involved with the effort, but I'd bet that a few email inquiries would get anyone who was interested to someone who might provide some helpful advice.
Jonathan Cavell
JonathanCavell@gmail.com
One way to raise money - go green! There are grants, credits, etc for green renovation. I am hoping that the organization that runs the new Denis theater will decide to build it to LEED specifications. I believe the Denis would be the first LEED certified theater on the east coast if they choose to go that route.
I've used this line from Caddyshack before on tise Blog, and I feel that it is once again important to pull out on this issue . . . Specifically, "This isn't Russia. Is this Russia? This isn't Russia."
Yes, it's safe to assume that Raja will benefit from an increase in value of the property, and why the hell shouldn't he?!?! He took the financial risk to buy the theatre and he'll take the financial hit if it fails. Let's face it, this property is not going to increase in value (over what Raja paid for it) unless it is drastically improved. If the fundraising efforts fail, the property will likely reduce in value or Raja will have to come out of his own pocket to finish the job. Moreover, Raja has already made an initial personal contribution to begin the renovations, so he now has additional skin in the game.
Second, I don't think there is a conflict of interest if Raja (as a commissioner) promotes economic development around his own property, unless he is using his elected position to improperly direct municipal dollars or resources to the project. That does not seem to be the case here as the fundraising efforts appear to be private. And in the event that public funds are requested for the project (either by Raja, another commissioner or a taxpayer), I assume that Raja would recuse himself immediately.
Let's face it, there's not enough of a tax base in Mt. Lebanon to do everything we want to do or fix everything we need to fix. Truth is, there is an ever increasing need for residents with means like Raja to step up and lend a hand. Just ask the good people at the Mt. Lebanon Community Foundation who are out looking for these people and their dollars every day.
Is their a financial motive to Raja's efforts? Certainly, he's a good businessman. However, I also believe that he thinks it is important to personally do what he can to energize, develop and sustain the vitality of our business districts.
Call me naive, but I believe that Raja is doing this at least in part for all us and not just for his own financial benefit. Besides, anyone who thinks that the quick and easy way to a healthy retirement is to buy, renovate and operate a tiny 3 screen movie theatre on Washington Rd. isn't someone that I want giving me financial advice.
I applaud Raja for stepping up and taking the initiative to renovate this property.
"Call me naive, but I believe that Raja is doing this at least in part for all us and not just for his own financial benefit."
Well said. I sighed when I read that the first comment on this subject was about Raja's intentions. We need some perspective here. Before Raja's purchase the Denis was an empty and crumbling building. Now it has the potential to pump some life into the uptown business district. I've often complained about the uptown businesses closing too early. Some of the business owners that they would consider staying open later "if the theater ever reopens."
Here is the link to the Pittsburgh Business Times story on the Denis Theater reopening.
I am confused about a number of things...is Raja in charge of the renovations or is he the owner of the building and is renting the building out to a group who wants the Denis back as a theatre? Also, I guess before I feel comfortable donating money, I'd like to know more about the terms of the lease agreement so that I have an understanding about how much of the money goes to renovations vs. rent?
Raja does not have a conflict of interest with the Dennis Theatre because he did not cast a vote as a Commissioner that would spend public money for his own benefit.
Instead, he spent his own money to buy the Dennis Theatre property and is asking the public to join him in partnership to reopen the Theatre and keep our central business district healthy.
Raja’s idea of voluntary contributions to a foundation shows a refreshing thought process breaking from the traditional tax-subsidy custom where all people send tax dollars they may not have.
A business venture it is not subject to the Sunshine Law we are used to. Some questions may not have come up if Raja were not a commissioner.
Now we may each decide for ourselves to gift money to the Foundation because we think it is good for Mt. Lebanon.
Good Luck Raja!
John Ewing
John.ewing1@verizon.net
Great news! Visions of taking my daughter up to Washington Road to catch a good film maybe stopping for a coffee or a slice of pizza or a swing through the candy store before hand...then afterwards doing some shopping up there. Its a good move for Washington Road.
And well said Dave.
I think anyone who has the personal finances to take on a project such as the Denis should also be commended. I have donated to several charities and like to know how the money is being used and thoroughly investigate them before contributing. Anyone have any idea about my earlier question?
Jack, Raja and his wife have purchased the building. It is my understanding that the Denis Theater Foundation, and it's board will be in charge of raising funds and supervise the renovation. As the owner I would not be suprised to find that Raja is consulted, but do not know is this will happen or not. www.denistheatre.org
is the website. Go there and ask your questions. I'm sure that they will be answered.
I am interested in knowing more about the structure of the Foundation. Is it truly a foundation in terms of the for profit/not for profit nature? How was it organized? While I again applaud Raja for his "stepping-up" as someone called it, I believe it is important that all in the community understand the structure and the renumeration that Raja may receive down the road. I would certainly be intersted in donating to such a cause as I, too, believe it would benefit our community. However, before ever endow a venture, I want to make sure it benefits a group, not just an individual who clearly has future political aspirations. I will certainly ask those questions of the website, Mr. Wertheim. Thank you for the suggestion.
First of all: YIPPEE!
This is the best news I've heard in a long time, both as a resident and as a movie lover.
As for the money angle, I didn't see anyone else buying the property or trying to run a business out of it. So if it's such a bad deal and yet Raja bought it, then I'd consider his support a donation to the community and not any kind of conflict of interest in the least. Just the opposite, I think he's putting his money where his mouth is and that shows integrity.
If getting the theater back makes Uptown more of a destination again then we all win. Count me in on opening day and hopefully many more thereafter.
As Joe W. suggested, I posed my questions on the Denis Theatre website 10 days ago. I am disheartened that they have not been answered. Anyone have another idea?
Jack, sorry that I have not looked at this posting in some time. I saw your 5/13 comment about not hearing anything after sending questions via the Denis website. I have sent an email to the Exec. Director asking that she, or someone, follow up on questions submited to their site. Hope this does some good.
Jack, another thought. If you do not hear back from the Exec. Director why not go directly to Commissioner Raja. Although not directly involved with the management of the Denis I am sure that he can get you answers
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