Sale of Theatre Aquarius Arts Centre highlights hard times for commercial real estate
After nearly a year of operating its educational programs online, Theatre Aquarius has vacated its education centre at 55 Wentworth St. S. and the landlord has sold the building.
The buyer is Spotted Properties, a property management company that will use it as an office.
The sale reflects a tough time for commercial real estate, particularly for spaces meant to host large groups, says the former owner of the building, Jeff Feswick.
He says landlords facing challenges finding tenants are increasingly moving their investments elsewhere. His Gold Key Inc. sold the building - which housed the Theatre Aquarius Arts Centre as well as five residential units - for $1.15 million on March 16.
Gold Key purchased the building in 2016 for $740,000, according to MLS records.
The theatre had asked to end its lease early, leaving Feswick wondering who he'd find to fill the space in a time where public spaces, offices and storefronts aren't exactly booming. He said he tried finding a new tenant before putting the property on the market but didn't have any luck.
Losing Theatre Aquarius was a huge hit for me," said Feswick, adding he also allowed the theatre to forgo leasehold improvement payments it owed in the tens of thousands."
Spotted Properties operations manager Skylar Dunford says the company, which started out managing student rentals from a storefront in Westdale, is excited to move its office staff of 10 into the space. The company has a total staff of about 20, but the remainder are maintenance workers who don't work from the office.
Dunford noted several local cultural spaces have been on the market lately due to the inability to gather during the pandemic, most notably the Lincoln Alexander Theatre, which had a listing price of $2.95 million as of mid-June.
Major price reduction for quick sale," stated the listing on the Blair Blanchard Stapleton brokerage website. Vendor motivated."
Feswick, who had several commercial property investments, says the pandemic has not been kind. He recently sold his coworking space The Seedworks, though his building revitalization company Historia Restoration remains a tenant there.
And while restoration work continues, the cost of building materials has increased dramatically since the start of the pandemic. It's a whole different world ... I'm 61 and I don't know what my future will be."
As for Theatre Aquarius, the company is continuing to run its education programs - which include theatre arts education curricula for children, youth and adults - online for the summer.
Executive director Lorna Zaremba says in-person Theatre School education programs will resume when it is safe to do so. Initially, we'll see how we can bring the programs into our Theatre Centre on King William Street."
Saira Peesker is a freelance writer who lives in Hamilton.