Wall reduced after citations, but no word on theater's future

Before and after: Krikorian Theater walls last week (top) and after the upper section was removed this week (bottom).

By Doug Spoon, Editor

After receiving a second public nuisance citation from the City of Menifee, the owner of the Krikorian Theater project hired a contractor to remove the unstable upper portion of the foam block construction wall this week.

Owner George Krikorian has not made any statement about when construction might resume, however.

Work on the project stopped a year ago, with only the framing walls upright. In an interview with Menifee 24/7 last August, Krikorian said the work stoppage was due to a loss of funding from lenders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Krikorian did not respond Friday to a media inquiry about possible plans to resume construction.

“Mr. Krikorian has been responsive to our Code Enforcement and Economic Development teams and may want to make a statement if you try to reach out about his work to address the public nuisance and his future construction plans,” Dominique Samario, City public information officer, told Menifee 24/7 in an email Friday morning.

Apparently not.

As the upper portion of the wall continued to show signs of instability, the City on Jan. 28 issued a notice of public nuisance violation to Krikorian, according to Samario. After receiving no response, the City issued a “failure to comply” notice on Feb. 12. Shortly thereafter, with the wall still sagging, the City issued a citation to Krikorian.

According to Menifee Police Captain Dave Gutierrez, whose department oversees code enforcement, a second citation was recently issued, prompting the removal of part of the wall.

“Menifee’s Code Enforcement team has been working with Mr. Krikorian to address the public nuisance violation on the theater building,” Gutierrez said. “After a follow-up inspection earlier in April showed no change on the state of the building wall, Code Enforcement did issue a second citation.

“Mr. Krikorian has been in communication with the City of Menifee and worked with a contractor to perform work on the wall to address the public nuisance issue since that second citation was issued.”

Otherwise, the future of the project remains a mystery. When construction stopped a year ago, Krikorian told City officials the project would likely not resume until the summer of 2021, which obviously is almost upon us. That was the last estimated date he has given.

In addition, a lawsuit was filed in July 2020 by Sierra Concrete & Landscaping Inc. of Bellflower against TMS Construction Inc. of Colorado and Showprop Menifee LLC, which was formed by Krikorian in 2015. A series of cross complaints by Showprop Menifee LLC and filings by additional contractors followed, and at least 19 separate filings are on record.

According to court records, a case management settlement hearing scheduled for April 23 was continued to Aug. 13 in Riverside Superior Court. The City of Menifee is not involved in the litigation.

First approved by City officials in July 2017, the Krikorian Theater complex is designed to include a 14-screen theater with a 100-foot screen and luxury seating, a bowling alley, outdoor bar, sports bar, arcade and more.