Hollywood Theater meeting tonight in Audubon neighborhood
Melissa Slachetka
Northeast Beat Contributor
More than a decade ago, the Audubon Neighborhood Association set aside money to help renovate and restore the historic Hollywood Theater. The hope was that the building could add vital atmosphere to the Johnson Street.
Tonight, the neighborhood association will meet to, among other things, vote on whether to spend the $115,000 on something else. The money could stay in the Hollywood Theater fund and wait for the renovation to start or it could be taken out and used in the Audubon neighborhood.
“Personally, I’d like [the money] to stay in the Hollywood,†Cindy Schulte said. She admitted, though, “It’s been not going anywhere for 20 years.â€
Schulte is part of the Audubon Neighborhood Association and she spoke about an issue that is at the heart of the neighborhood.
Because the theater is classified as historic, it cannot be torn down. Without a restoration, it is just an old, abandoned building.
“We still own the building. The city will continue to own the building until there is a viable proposal for reuse,†said Sharrin Miller-Bassi, a senior project coordinator with Minneapolis’s Community Planning and Economic Development department.
Voting to remove the money from the Hollywood fund would open it up to new uses in the neighborhood. The money could be used for business or housing loans.
Loans instead of grants would allow the money to come back to the neighborhood association and possibly help the Hollywood Theater later, Schulte said.
Some people want to keep the money strictly for the Hollywood Theater, and Royce Jackson is one of them.
Jackson states on his Hollywood Theater website “we have just recently learned that the Audubon Neighborhood Association is contemplating taking away the allotted money that has been specifically set aside for the Hollywood Theater. We cannot afford [to] let this happen. The outcome of this decision could make or break the theater.â€
Jackson is attempting to take ownership of the Hollywood Theater, but at this point he does not own it.
If the neighborhood votes to consider other uses for the money, it will discuss what those are at a future meeting.
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Filed under: Audubon Park, Development, NRP
The Hollywood Theater presents a great and difficult opportunity for Audubon and all of Northeast. All neighborhood groups should recognize that a revitalized Hollywood helps all of Northeast (think Ritz).
In the past, WPCiA (Windom Park) allocated $25,000 to help spur redevelopment. I’m certain my neighborhood would put that money back on the table to help get the ball rolling.
Doron Clark
Windom Park
WPCiA Co-President
I am not the only person in the neighborhood who believes the real powers-that-be in city government truly DO NOT WANT the Hollywood to be redeveloped. The city agencies continually move the goalposts (check the history of the development proposals) on the feasability requirements. They seem to want it to deteriorate enough to allow it to be torn down and replaced with a more suburban-type bland use that would not be a “troublemaker” like an entertainment facility could become (in their eyes). Couple that with the few cranks who distributed anonymous fliers screaming that “THEY ARE PUTTING A GAY BAR INTO THE HOLLYWOOD!” about the last good development proposal, and their constant whining about “attracting the wrong element” and we get the present situation. Our family moved to the neighborhood (I live less than a block away from Hollywood) specifically because of the proximity to local businesses, and we wholeheartedly support any development of the theatre that would make it a community entertainment attraction.
Last night, the neighbors of Audubon voted to leave the $115,000 allocated to Hollywood redevelopment.
It was a very close vote 25-28 on the motion to reallocate the funds from the theater to the business loan program.
Doron Clark
Windom Park