METUCHEN – The due diligence process of preserving the Metuchen Forum Theater is moving along.
On March 11, Mayor Jonathan Busch signed a purchase contract to acquire the theater from Marloe Enterprises Inc. for $1.399 million.
“Right now our focus is on acquisition and our focus is on due diligence,” Busch had said, noting negotiations were constructive with the Lowery family, which owned the theater for 37 years.
Borough Council members adopted an ordinance which provides for the acquisition of the theater. They passed a resolution awarding the Falcon Group a contract to provide due diligence services on the building at a cost not to exceed $16,995.
The Falcon Group’s job “is to go (into the theater) and tell us how much they think it will cost” to preserve it, Busch said.
The Falcon Group, which is from Bridgewater, is an engineering and architectural firm with a focus on restoring and evaluating buildings.
Muldoon said the electrical engineer is beginning inspections and the borough will receive a report once the firm is complete with inspections.
Busch added they have met with the two tenants currently renting space at the theater and discussed the process of the purchase with the business owners. He said they did not know all the answers to the tenant’s questions as of yet, but said it’s important for open communication and dialogue.
The mayor said the acquisition of the theater was made possible with a $3.5 million grant from Middlesex County, the largest single grant Metuchen has received from the county.
In October 2018, county and borough officials came together to announce the county was allocating the grant from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund to help create the Metuchen Arts District.
The Metuchen Arts District would include the Forum Theater along Main Street and the corner of Amboy Avenue, the site of an abandoned gas station. The acquisition of the theater is the first major step in the borough’s proposed creation of a Metuchen Arts District, which officials announced in August 2018.
The proposed arts district would include a renovation of the 450-seat Forum Theater and the conversion of the gas station next door into a contemporary indoor-outdoor event space and dining area called “Spot.”