Retlaw Theatre

LouRugani on June 27, 2014 at 4:49 pm

There are some who consider the former Retlaw Theater a dilapidated, mold-riddled space with a leaky roof and standing water in the basement.

But a group operating mostly online with no ownership rights to the Main Street building sees a gem in the rough. Friends of the Retlaw Theater say the historic downtown building is structurally sound, has only surface mold resulting from malfunctioning roof drains and should be transformed into a usable theater for the community.

Louie Lange, president of Commonwealth Companies, has been granted an option to purchase the property that fronts 23 S. Main St. Once home to a grand theater, the buildings that are part of the theater complex have been vacant and for sale for seven years. Commonwealth intends to close on the property within the month and begin a project to renovate the building into a mix of offices, retail and apartment space. Lange said his project would not be financially viable with the theater.

“In order to develop the apartments that (financially) support the cost of the building, we need windows on the eastern side of the building — the same with the office space,” Lange said.

Parking, he said, is not as important as creating apartments on the eastern portion of the building. If parking were the only issue, he said Tuesday, the theater may have been salvaged.

Friends of the Retlaw Theater has been collecting signatures from people who want to save the theater. The group says it has 1,300 to 1,500 signatures but has largely stopped its petition efforts.

The following is posted online, petitioning Commonwealth Development Corp.:

“Please do not turn our Retlaw Theater into a 32-space parking lot. Utilize the auditorium in your redevelopment plan and be a hero to Fond du Lac citizens, young and old!”

Commonwealth is planning a $2.4 million project at the Retlaw site. The plan calls for creation of first-floor offices for 24 Commonwealth staff members and retail space. The second floor and part of the third floor will become 10 apartments priced at market rate including several two-story lofts. Wempner’s School of Dance may continue as a tenant on the third floor. Portions of the theaters facing Sheboygan and Portland streets will be razed and replaced with a parking lot.

Friends of the Retlaw group held a meeting Tuesday night at Fond du Lac Public Library that was attended by nearly a dozen people. The group invited all “Fond du Lac County residents, Commonwealth friends, Thelma friends, and the media to confirm facts and share ideas and find the common ground we all know exists to SAVE the Historic Fond du Lac Retlaw Theater for Fond du Lac’s Downtown Arts and Entertainment District.”

Fond du Lac resident Christine Clementi, who has been leading the Save the Retlaw Theater charge, said Tuesday she didn’t expect a buyer — any buyer — to have a plan that included demolition of the theater. When she and others learned of Commonwealth’s intentions, “they panicked,” she said, and started an online effort to try and find a way to work with Commonwealth.

Lange said his plan calls for construction of five apartments facing Main Street and five facing Sheboygan Street. The theater, he said, doesn’t fit with the design.

A 32-space parking lot could provide parking for some of his office employees, apartment tenants and retail employees/customers. Lange said he’s already purchased spaces in a nearby parking garage.

The historical character of the Retlaw Theater facade facing Main Street will be maintained. Lange said he will try and salvage architectural aspects of the building’s interior.

“It would be wonderful if we had an economically viable way to preserve that theater,” Lange said.

He said it would take at least $9 million to restore the theater. The Friends of the Retlaw group believe it can be done for a much lower amount.

The Retlaw complex Lange is purchasing is more than a theater — it encompasses the buildings at 17, 19 and 23 S. Main St.

A portion of one theater was made into a kitchen during the time it served as Fusion Restaurant and floors were flattened in another one-third of the building, said Amy Hansen, executive director of the Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership. She said a middle section still has theater seats, but they are covered with mold and can’t be reused.

Retlaw Theater is listed on local, state and national historic registries but it’s the local designation that is the most restrictive, said Dyann Benson, redevelopment planner for the City of Fond du Lac.

Benson said properties on the state and national historic registry are eligible for tax credits and funding for certain types of projects.

Because of the local historic designation, the city’s Historic Preservation Commission was required to vote on demolition and exterior alterations to the building.

“The HPC doesn’t have the authority to negate an accepted offer,” Benson said. An initial motion to delay demolition by three months was amended to allow immediate demolition when the committee questioned what a delay would accomplish.

Lange told them a delay could impact his plans for purchase of the building.

Ann Kelly, owner of Wempner’s Dance Studio, said a commercial cleaning specialist walked through the theater in October 2013 and told her the mold in the dressing rooms under the stage was “surface mold” and could be cleaned up and painted and that wood trim and wood doors should be removed to eliminate continual mold growth. The specialist said the mold was not dangerous black mold and would not require any special kind of cleanup.

Kelly said a structural engineer from a Green Bay firm inspected the theater on April 25 and reported that water damage is due to malfunctioning roof drains, and the building is structurally adequate and does not pose a safety concern.

A preservation architect from the Wisconsin Historical Society, Mark Buechel, who also viewed the property in April, said the theater is “in remarkable condition and a beautiful example of Art Deco architecture.” The architect said the theater could stand another 89 years if roof issues were addressed. He also wasn’t overly concerned about the basement mold.

Lange said Tuesday he is concerned dilapidated areas will “start eating at the rest of” the building.

Kelly has a secondary offer on the property, but Commonwealth’s is the offer accepted by owner Chuck Boyd.

Clementi said she believes the HPC should have voted to postpone demolition of the theater because another proposal (Kelly’s vision for a performing arts center for children) existed. The committee voted unanimously May 21 to allow demolition.

Fond du Lac City Council President Sam Meyer, on a recent online post, said the City of Fond du Lac does not have authority to dictate the terms of the property sale.

“This is a transaction between two private parties about a privately owned property,” he said. “The city can’t stop, alter, negotiate or deny any portion of this transaction because the city doesn’t own the property, nor does it have authority to do so. While some might not like it, if the private owner of this property decides they want to tear part of the property down, then that is their right.”

Meyer said no city taxpayer money was used in the development project/transaction and there isn’t a Council member associated with the seller or the buyer. Council, he added, did not vote to demolish anything related to the Commonwealth project. He said the owner does not need Council approval.

Hansen said she’s looked at the state of Rapp and Rapp theaters — the Chicago architects of the Retlaw Theater and 105 theaters in the U.S. Forty-seven have been demolished, 16 are vacant and still standing and 42 are open.

“It’s an unfortunate reality that not all of these properties can be saved,” Hansen said.

Norm Lenburg on July 5, 2014 at 8:35 pm

The Friends of the Retlaw Theatre group also have a Facebook page and a fund-raising website.

Norm Lenburg on September 3, 2014 at 3:39 pm

Commonwealth Development Corp. has begun a partial demolition of the Retlaw Theater building. First to go was Theater Five that was added to the building in the 1980s, along with another “modern” auditorium, as part of a modernization. When demolition is completed, both “add-on” theaters and the main auditorium will be gone. The lobby facade and retail and office space that was part of the original Rapp & Rapp structure will remain and be converted into offices for Commonwealth and market rate apartments. The Reporter (local newspaper) has posted videos of the first two days of demo work:

Day one video 9/2/2014

and

Day two video 9/3/2014

Day two video 9/3/2014

Norm Lenburg on October 20, 2014 at 3:54 pm

As of Oct. 20, 2014, the demolition of the auditorium and stage of the Retlaw Theatre is nearly complete. Only the stage proscenium opening remains standing, and this will come down soon.

50sSNIPES on December 10, 2023 at 5:59 pm

The Retlaw became a triplex in 1983, and two more screens were added in December 1985.