Earlier today, Exclaim reported that the Rio Theatre building on Broadway is presently up for sale. The beloved movie venue is not owned by its current proprietors, but operator Corinne Lea released a statement later in the day mentioning that they’re locked into an eight-year lease — which she believes will be honoured by the new owners — and are working to ensure the future of the operation.
The pamphlet from commercial real estate firm CBRE has an eyebrow-raising paragraph stating “The Subject Property is in an ideal position for a development assembly with the adjacent properties. Under the current OCP, the City will consider applications for additional density and height for the Rio Theatre, raising the potential of the Property and adjacent properties it is assembled with.” That means they’re positioning it as an opportunity to tear the place down to build condos, and no commercial lease would be strong enough to prevent a new owner from doing that, leaving a hole in the culture of our city.
As noted in Lea’s statement above, however, the Rio is hoping to raise money to buy the place, and anything could happen. We’ll keep you updated.
