"Save The Parkway Theater" Oakland Meeting Of 3-29-09

http://oaklandfocus.blogspot.com -- On March 22nd, the Parkway Theater in at 1834 Park Blvd in Oakland played its last set of films to a large audience, then stopped after 12 years of operation and a lot of memories.

A victim of the economy and a landlord seeking higher rents, Catherine and Kyle Fisher made a decision to close the legendary business just four days before the last opening night.

But no sooner did that happen than a group of concerned Oaklanders sprang into action. They set up a website called http://iliketheparkway.com and a facebook page called "Save The Parkway Speakeasy Theater", then held now three meetings. This video presents much of the action and talk from the second meet: a large event at Roos Cafe on Park Avenue, just three doors from the Parkway itself.




The meeting attendees divided into several sub-groups and determined possible future programming and business models for the theater. Then the group was visited by Oakland Councilmember Pat Kernighan, who explained she just met with the owners of the building the Parkway Theater operated in and who said they wanted a new business in it -- a theater operator -- but one that had experience and not a new-comer. She also said the closing of the theater causes a blight on the neighborhood, but the area was already a Redevelopment Area.

What's interesting is the owners charged $10,000 per month for rent according to the Councilmember (Which I personally think is totally high for that area. It may be reasonable from a per-square-foot perspective but really the best rent model was for the owners to charge a percentage of the revenue. $10,000 is highway robbery.)




After the sub-group meetings the group reassembled to compare notes. The overall desire is to see the Parkway Theater and its food-oriented business concept reborn.




The organizers planned future events. For example, on Wednesday night a volunteer meeting was held and there will be future events as well.

Meanwhile the employees who lost their jobs at the Parkway are still out there looking for new work. Their needs are more immediate -- the group has a lot of time.

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[AlanMolstad]

("The Lights Go Out for Oakland's Parkway Theater")

There is a video listed on YouTube with that name to it.

But I think it's kinda funny, because the "lights go out" today, but they had stopped paying their rent a long, long, long time ago.

The owner of the building has the right to charge what ever he wants for the building, or to close it and not rent it if he dont want.

I dont agree that the owner charged 'too much" for rent.

It's his call to make as to whats right to charge.

[AlanMolstad]

Now theParkway Theater stopped paying rent!

They are deadbeats.

The owner of the building has lost a lot of money putting up with a renter that stopped paying rent but kept showing movies and earning money?

I mean , how is that correct?

Think anyone will want to rent a building to this renter to turn into a Theater in the future?

Anyone want to rent a room to someone who is known to stop paying rent?

[AlanMolstad]

My Advice?

If you run a business that does not make a lot of money then move to where the rent is so cheap that you can earn more that you put out for rent.

This is why old buildings that sat empty for years suddenly have renters.

People who rent should always be looking around the market for a better deal.

Thats the correct way to keep rent cheap- by being ready to pack up and move.

The moment you think to yourself, "We cant move" the owners have got you.

[AlanMolstad]

The moment you force a limit to the amount of money a building owner can charge for rent, you put that building on a path to being left to fall apart and it soon becomes a dump and an stain on the city.

The ONLY reason a building owner will pay to fix up an older building is that he thinks he can make a pile of money off of the renters.

Limit the amount of money he can charge for rent, and you turn buildings back into dumps.

[AlanMolstad]

If you are doing killer business, then I got no problem with the owner asking for a bigger cut of the pie....it's his building after all.

But to force the owner to just be happy with less money because the renter is not earning enough money this month?...nope...

thats not the right way to help the owners get the most from their buildings.

The best way is to allow the marketplace to handle the question of "How much is rent?"

[AlanMolstad]

I think the best rent model is to have the owner charge as much rent for his own building as the market will support.

This way it does not matter who rents from him, the renter will be driven to work hard and make needed changes ,

that is good for whatever business he runs be it this movie hall or a bar or a store or whatever.

If some rich people want to support this movie theater, good for them!

But down the line people will want to see the place make more money, that means change.

.

[AlanMolstad]

("for the owners to charge a percentage of the revenue") Im not really such an idea is a means to help people see the need to work very hard. What if my rent was based on the number of hours I worked? Take a day off? no problem, let me lower your rent! take a month off? no problem let me lower your rent some more. stop working ? no problem let me not charge you rent this month never get a job? no problem I will cover for you.