Historic Winter Haven landmark will come under city ownership this summer
Winter Haven officials entered an agreement to purchase the historic Ritz Theatre for approximately $497,000 on Monday night.
By a vote of 4-0, the City Commission agreed to purchase the nearly 100-year-old building at 263 W. Central Ave. from the nonprofit organization Historic Ritz Theatre Inc. Commissioner Brian Yates recused himself from the vote, citing a conflict of interest.
Under the sale agreement, the city will pay $497,000 or the current value due on the theater's mortgage with Citizens Bank & Trust on the scheduled closing date of Aug. 5, whichever is less.
"We are very excited about the future of the Ritz and the partnership moving forward with the city and Theatre Winter Haven," said Tom Westberry, president of Historic Ritz Theatre Inc. "As a board, we feel this is the best way forward."
City Manager T. Michael Stavres said members of the nonprofit's board of directors approached the city to see if it had an interest in purchasing the property in late January. The commission approved negotiations to begin in mid-March.
"Fully activating that space could have a direct economic benefit by creating an arts and cultural destination," Stavres said in March. "An inactive space of that nature could negatively impact the same businesses as well as losing customers who might not otherwise seek to visit downtown."
Under the sales agreement, Historic Ritz Theatre Inc. will pay all its own attorneys' and consultants' fees, costs for recording satisfaction of the existing mortgage and pay its pro-rated share of county taxes through the closing date.
The funds for the purchase of the property will come from the city's General Fund, according to Stavres. Given it's a one-time expense, the money will come from available funds within the Fund Balance of the General Fund.
Winter Have staff previously estimated it will cost the city $40,000 a year to operate the venue. Starvres said the city was quoted an insurance cost of $16,000 a year.
Winter Haven officials know they are facing significant upkeep costs for the building that opened in 1927, originally under the name Williamson Theatre.
Winter Haven's facility maintenance staff did a walk-through inspection and found approximately $100,000 of minor cosmetic, electrical, plumbing and structural repairs that would need to be addressed over the next two years.
The biggest long-term need will be replacement of the theater's membrane roof, as two layers have been applied and it will need to be stripped and replaced within the next three to five years. The building has three, aging 30-ton air conditioning units that economically should be replaced at the same time, Stavres said. The anticipated cost of this work is about $495,000.
The city is working on a contract with Theatre Winter Haven, who runs and operates the programing at the municipal-owned theater in Chain O' Lakes Park. Stavres said a contract will likely be coming to the commission for review and possible approval in June.
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Commissioner Brad Dantzler said he wanted to consider a possible timeframe, or imposed exit strategy, to review the city's spending on the theater in two to three years.
"I think it should be something we should consider as we are spending the public's money on this and owe it to the public to give them an exit strategy if it doesn't work," he said. "I want to do this, but I want some form of exit strategy."
Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at [email protected] or 863-802-7545. Follow on X @SaraWalshFl.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Winter Haven officials agree to purchase the troubled Ritz Theatre
