The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Plans for Norristown Wellness Center hit a rough patch
NORRISTOWN >> With a GoFundMe platform growing every day and the energy and wholehearted commitment of Gangster Vegan Organics founder Vince DePaul behind it, the future seemed bright for Norristown Wellness Center.
Norristown native DePaul had followed his dreams back to Norristown from Florida, where he had moved after franchising his successful organic vegan market concept in West Norriton.
At the heart of that dream was the old Baer’s Furniture building at 130 E. Main St., which DePaul envisioned as a full-fledged holistic wellness mecca, with a vegan cafe, grocery store, yoga studio, stage for live music performances, art gallery and whatever else seemed appropriate as suggested by an enthusiastic array of supporters in the community.
But his dream turned into a nightmare right before his eyes, DePaul said.
“God sent me back to Norristown, my hometown, to open up this wellness center and since we have spoken about it and signed the lease and put it out there it seemed as if we were getting a lot of love sent our way.”
In one week, the Norristown Wellness Center GoFundMe site had raised almost $2,000, DePaul said.
“One of the main reasons we were looking to raise funds is that we signed a five-year lease for
this building as is with Mill City Properties with Coach Michael Fink and Sara Truelove, who own Mill City Properties,” he noted. “Coach Fink is deep-rooted in the Norristown community. He was a basketball coach at Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic High School and a lot of people know him. I was sent to Coach Fink, that’s how I found this building. There was a phone number on the building. I called it and met with Coach Fink’s son, Robert. He gave me a tour of the building and brought me to his dad, who owned the building. Coach Fink said ‘I would love to support something like this for Norristown.’ He was totally excited about it. He agreed verbally to put some money into the building and funnel the money from Mill City Properties through Spartan Drywall and (owner) Dominic Truelove and Ian Truelove to do the construction, and we would also raise some capital ourselves.”
DePaul said that Fink also added an addendum to the lease that he would come up with $97,000 to improve the building.
“Immediately after I signed the lease, Ian Truelove and Dominic Truelove took over the building and they hired Spartan Drywall to do some demolition.”
As DePaul spoke, he stood near piles of rubble inside the building he said were the result of an interior demolition that the crew had not cleaned up.
“It’s asbestos-ridden, with black mold. Code Enforcement was here and cited the landlord for not having a permit to do the demolition. Now they’re reneging on the lease. Dominic Truelove’s name is not on Mill City Properties at all but he’s acting as owner and manager of the building. Ian Truelove has been showing up every day steering the demolition crew that they hired and they didn’t want to pay the demolition crew. I had to call Coach Fink and get him to write a check for $16,000 for the demo work that he was supposed to pay them for. It’s really turned into a mess.”
The situation that’s now unfolded was not the foundation he wanted to build for Norristown, DePaul said.
“In my understanding of who Michael Fink is, he is dedicated to the community, or so I thought, and that Dominic Truelove and Spartan Drywall were men of integrity and cared about Norristown. We can’t get any closure. All parties involved are saying we have to deal with Dominic Truelove, and his name isn’t on any of the papers we signed as far as Mill City Properties. And we really want to call out Michael Fink because he verbally promised a lot of things and isn’t delivering on it. They’re not hurting me, they’re ultimately hurting the community.”
Dominic Truelove responded by explaining that Michael Fink is a silent partner in Mill City Properties “but he’s not in any kind of operational capacity. The lease is very clear in what it states. It’s an ‘as is’ lease and the tenant accepts the building in the condition it’s in as it stands, and any improvements are the responsibility of the tenant. And Vince, like a typical tenant, wants to build it out however he wants to build it out. His expectations, unfortunately, weren’t met by the condition of the building. The way commercial leases work, the tenant builds out the space. We gave him an empty space and it’s his responsibility to build it out, as long as he gets the proper permits for it. We feel he misrepresented our intentions and hasn’t been honest in his representations of what he’s looking for. Negotiations fell through. Any contributions (from Mill City) would have been voluntary, above and beyond. He’s looking for an investment from Mill City and Mill City isn’t comfortable with that.We stand by our contract with him but unfortunately we’re not in a position to (contrib
ute) to his vision, and he’s not happy with us.”
Truelove called DePaul’s contention that Spartan Drywall initiated the interior demolition “completely inaccurate. We have a lease and we’re willing to honor the terms of his contract, it’s just that the landlord is not going to be an investor in his vision.”
Truelove said Mill City offered to refund DePaul’s money “and he can move on. Or, we support what he wants to do for Norristown. It’s just that we’re not going to be an investor.”
DePaul recalled the infectious exuberance that informs the video he created about the project for the GoFundMe page barely a month ago that had engaged so many people.
He said that through all the turmoil he’s trying to hold onto that spark that brought him back to Norristown, and the words that captured his goals:
“Our core mission is to improve the quality of life in our community and the world,” he wrote. “It starts with one fruit and one vegetable at a time. We’re transforming the narrative of the way we eat and live, along with our mind, body, and soul. With that being said, we want to commence the project of our new 30,000 square foot building in the heart of Norristown, Pennsylvania. This project is revitalization and beautification at its finest! Built specifically by the community for the community and the world. Our goal is transforming and inspiring the change and quality of life in the amazing community of Norristown. Our new project isn’t going to finish itself, since we are starting from scratch it needs tons of love and support to get this building to where it needs to be. The building will have unique features that would make it like no other, and will definitely make it the talk of the town and world. If you felt inspired, motivated, or even excited while reading or watching the video below, on what the building has to offer please help us make it happen for you with your support. We define true authentic health and wellness!”
DePaul said that he stands by his original idyllic mission, even as he has some important decisions to make in the coming days.
“I lead with love all the time and I don’t want to take any of this personally, but it’s a real shame. This building is historically zoned as a town center and this was something beautiful we were building for the community. If we’re going to stay in this building we’ll need about $1 million for this project” DePaul said. “Maybe there’s somebody out there with integrity and values who has a better building for us in Norristown.”
Contact DePaul through www.gofundme.com/f/norristown-wellness-center or call 484-219-7743.