FireFish is logical choice for building

The Lorain Palace Theater should follow through with selling the Eagles Building to the FireFish Arts group because of its vision to bring a cultural arts renewal to downtown Lorain.

On April 19, the Palace board of directors met with Lorain Law Director Pat Riley, who spoke for Mayor Chase Ritenauer’s administration to encourage further negotiations with the FireFish organization on acquiring the building.

The meeting came after Palace board President Jeff Neal this week announced the theater leaders could not execute an agreement to sell the Eagles Building, located at 575 Broadway, to FireFish.

In February, Lorain City Council approved a deal in which the board of the Palace Theater, 617 Broadway, would transfer ownership of the fourstory, 30,000-square-foot Eagles Building to the arts group for its permanent home for the FireFish Festival, an arts event on Broadway that started in 2015.

The sale agreement had a condition for FireFish to release the Palace board from any liability under a 2009 agreement with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, which formerly was the Ohio Cultural Facilities Commission.

The state provided up to $410,000 for the Palace Theater to acquire the Eagles Building, repayable over 15 years, and the Palace still could be liable for about $150,000 of that amount.

The city administration, Riley said, was not advocating for FireFish.

However, he cited legal conditions and argued a sale of the Eagles Building posed “minimal” risk to the Palace.

And based on information from state officials, it appeared the Palace could sell the Eagles Building to FireFish or another buyer.

As long as the Eagles Building maintains its historic status, the Palace Theater would not be liable for repaying the state money.

Riley said if the state demanded repayment, the city of Lorain would be first in line to pay it back.

The amount of money involved — $150,000 — is substantial for the Palace, but not a tremendous risk for Lorain.

Going back to the table with FireFish, Palace board member Dan Kelley said the board is willing to make it work and have a deal benefit members of the community.

Palace board Vice President Ken Kramer added divesting the Eagles Building is necessary.

Kramer said, “We can’t afford to have the Palace run and maintain that building. We can’t afford two buildings.”

And what Kramer is saying makes a lot of sense.

Earlier last week, Neal said the deal will not go through because one of the articles written into the contract could not be fulfilled.

Neal said the contract was nullified with FireFish due to lack of performance.

The Palace also was to get $10,000 from the sale to FireFish, then use the money to cover property taxes owed for the Eagles Building.

The building has unpaid taxes of $9,464, according to the Lorain County Auditor’s Office.

FireFish Executive Director James Levin said supporters of the arts group thought the deal was done.

Levin said state officials were waiting for a purchase agreement and guarantee signed by the city of Lorain, and both of those agreements happened.

FireFish was ready, willing and able to go forward.

Levin said the indemnification issue is confusing because it appears the Palace has more exposure to liability by owning the Eagles Building than by transferring it.

The negotiation process has gone on quietly for two years and, frankly, Levin said he is not interested in more talks for the Eagles Building. And who can blame him? Members of the two organizations get along, but Levin said the situation has become frustrating for supporters of both the Palace and FireFish.

City officials acknowledged the Eagles Building was in very good shape despite it not being used for several years.

But it’s going to take money and people to restore the building; FireFish supporters know that and are prepared to move forward.

For now, the Eagles Building will stay under the ownership of the Palace.

However, Neal said the Palace board would like to reopen negotiations on the deal to transfer the Eagles Building to FireFish.

This deal needs closure because the Eagles Building needs to be put into use; and the sooner the better.

It has the potential to be one of the main attractions in downtown Lorain because it has a bar area on the second floor and a grand ballroom on the third floor.

The Eagles Building and FireFish are important pieces of the puzzle in Lorain’s resurgence.