Golden State Theatre Owner Pitches 50-50 Deal to City of Monterey

Warren Dewey has a thing for old theaters, and a decade ago, he was on the hunt across California to buy one. He settled on Golden State Theatre on Alvarado Street, which he purchased for $2.5 million. “There was just something magical about it,” Dewey says.

He still feels that magic sometimes, but after his own music promotion business slowed during the recession and his latest tenant, Scott Grover, fell behind on rent, Dewey’s looking to sell the theater for $4.9 million. The 1926 theater has been on the market for years. Dewey’s broker Ryan Flegal says some prospective buyers have shown interest, though he won’t reveal any details. (The asking price was recently reduced from $8 million.)

Now, Dewey is offering the place to the city of Monterey for half-off: “For 50 percent of the purchase price, Monterey would retain 100 percent of the decisions in how the theatre is used,” according to a proposal Dewey submitted to city officials last week.

“Most people that invest in something like this want to make a profit,” Dewey says. “The city can look at it in a different way, in restaurants, shops and hotels doing better business.”

In Dewey’s vision, the city would collect a $5 historic preservation fee from ticket sales to maintain the theater. Instead of hiring a venue manager, local arts nonprofits like First Night Monterey and the Monterey Jazz Festival would move into the old theater and manage it themselves.

For his half of the ownership, Dewey would retain control of the retail storefronts in the building, which include Sushi Moto and Koko’s Cafe.

“We don’t have any money to spend on it at this point,” Assistant City Manager Mike McCarthy says. “Before considering financing plans, we’d ask, ‘Does it make sense for the city to own?’”

The city has considered acquiring the Golden State in the past, most recently with a 2003 analysis of combining with the Monterey Conference Center.

“The purpose of the proposal is to create a win-win where the city can hold on to a significant lever for the downtown Monterey business community,” Flegal says. “This is a very low price.”

Especially compared to a $32 million remodel of the conference center the city is currently considering. Hotels would tax themselves to fund that project, which calls for the elimination of the 475-seat Steinbeck lecture forum–which Dewey thinks presents an enticing reason for the city to invest in the neighboring venue, which has already held overflow conference center crowds on occasion.

“The few times the theater got used by the conference center, it turned out great,” he says.