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Since the Ridglea Theater complex's ownership changed hands last fall, Fort Worthians have been waiting, anxiously, to see if the historic theater would be spared from developers. If plans currently on the table go through, the answer to that question, sadly, may be no.
Friday night, a concerned citizen who makes their home in the Ridglea Hills neighborhood passed along an e-mail from the neighborhood association, outlining Bank of America’s proposed changes to the Ridglea Theater complex.
To quote the e-mail: "From the site plan ... received, it appears that changes may include demolition of the rear section of the theater building and the front-most office/retail portion of the complex along Winthrop Avenue." From the proposed blueprints attached to the e-mail, it appears that the potential development would only salvage the building's facade, with the remainder of the proposed bank being new construction.
According to a city official within that same e-mail, city councilman W.B. "Zim" Zimmerman, who represents District 3, the district containing the Ridglea Theater, toured the venue last fall when the new owners were going to put it up for sale. The city official's chilling assessment? "The interior is [in] very poor shape, probably not worth the cost of rehab." The official encourages those in the neighborhood with thoughts on the possible development to contact Zimmerman as soon as possible.
With last week's announced closure of Ridglea Music, a decades-old store literally around the corner from Ridglea Theater, plans would appear to be in motion for a drastic overhaul of the space near the intersection of Bryant Irvin and Camp Bowie. The city is holding a pre-development conference for this proposed project early this week. I'll have much more on this story as it develops.
UPDATE: Just back from the pre-development conference at City Hall, the first step in a long process that could conclude with a drastically overhauled Ridglea Theater.
From what I could gather, Bank of America may already own the property or FixFunding, the Dallas-based commercial loan company which purchased the property last year, may be acting on BoA's behalf. Either way, the blueprints were shown to various city government employees, who held forth on requirements. The plans are to demolish all but the facade, although the architect present stressed twice that BoA would do its best to preserve the historic elements of the building.
Earlier this morning, I spoke with the Ridglea Theater's Wesley Hathaway, as well as the city's acting historic preservation officer, James Zwolak, and left a message for the venue's current owners, Dallas-based FixFunding.
Although Historic Fort Worth just added the Ridglea to its 2010 list of most endangered places, that designation carries no weight, according to Zwolak. While Historic Fort Worth's designation draws attention to the building, only placement on the National Register of Historic Places could actually stop development from taking place.
Clarification:Historic Fort Worth executive director Jerre Tracy says, in fact, a placement on the National Register would not save the Ridglea. At this stage, only two viable options exist. The city manager could designate the Ridglea as a historic landmark or the city council could do so. The third option, where the property owner could designate the building, does not appear likely in this case.
That said, the Fort Worth planning and development department's website says a stay of execution, of sorts, is possible. Demolition of a historic building without federal protection can be put on hold via a "demolition delay" designation. According to the city's site, it's "a historic preservation tool used to identify buildings that have an historic significance. 'Demolition delay' is the minimum type of historic preservation designation in Fort Worth. ... The designation only becomes effective if a demolition permit for the property is requested. Once a demolition permit is requested the City’s Historic and Cultural Landmarks Commission may enact a delay of up to 180 days to determine if there are alternatives to demolition and if the building can be preserved. If no alternatives to demolition can be reached the demolition permit for the property may be issued after the delay."
Hard to tell if that would apply in this situation, as the proposed changes involve retaining the facade yet demolishing the remainder of the building, but it's a possible glimmer of hope, anyway.
As for Hathaway and her partner, Richard Van Zandt, they've known this was coming for a while, thanks to visits from architects examining the property. They are looking around at other possible sites for concert venues, with potential partners, in Fort Worth and Arlington. The Ridglea Theater has shows booked through next year; the pair has one year left on their lease. "I wish it wouldn't happen, whether we're there or not; that building is so beautiful," Hathaway said. Hathaway feels strongly that the Ridglea Theater, whether it's a music venue or not, should be preserved.
For now, the future is uncertain, so far as live music in the space, but the Ridglea's days -- as it exists now -- appear to be numbered.
