Ioka Fails to Meet Fundraising Target

The future of the Ioka Theater is once again in doubt, as its current owner signaled this past Friday that he is pursuing other options than working with the non-profit Exeter Theater Co., a former partner which failed to meet its fundraising targets to buy back the theater at the end of last month.Founded in 1915, the Ioka had operated as a historic local movie theater until its last showing in December of 2008, when the occupancy permit was revoked due to the owner’s inability to update the sprinkler system to meet fire code. The building alternatively housed a bar, ice cream parlor and Zumba studio until philanthropist and real-estate mogul Alan Lewis purchased it at auction in 2011 for $600,000, almost twice its assessed value of $350,900.He had originally planned to lease the building to The Exeter Theater Co., a group dedicated to transforming “the empty building into an Art House theater featuring live music, theater, dance, comedy, independent and local films, and community programming,” but determined that he wanted them to buy it for his original purchase price after being disappointed by the non-profit’s performance.The Theater Company declined to make the non-refundable deposit of $60,000 necessary for the negotiations by March 31, citing the risk of losing the deposit money if the $600,000 is not raised, and the overvaluation of the building that would require $3.5 million dollars to renovate if purchased. It has since lost its ability to post messages to the theater’s marquee.“We feel a responsibility to each and every one of our donors and did not feel we could take the risk of losing that deposit, as has happened in previous attempts to purchase the IOKA,” Tony Callendrello, chair of the Company’s board of directors, stated in a blog post April 2. “By all estimates, the building is worth far less than the $600,000 asking price.  Unfortunately, the theater continues to lose value due to damage caused by a leaking roof in winter weather.”Although the Company hopes to continue fundraising through major donors, Lewis showed that he is moving past exclusive negotiations with them in a marquee announcement last Friday, stating that the “Lewis family is sorry fundraising fell short of the goal,” and, on the reverse, that he is “seeking a historic preservation partner,” and listed a number to contact.In an editorial published this Tuesday, the Seacoast Media Group, owner and operator of the Exeter News-Letter, stated that it believed the Company should look beyond the physical building, saying that “… the Ioka has become an impossible dream. We urge the Exeter Theater Co. to put its energy and enthusiasm to productive use, and this will require letting go of the Ioka building,” but the group responded that it will continue to work for the building itself.  “We strongly disagree with [the] editorial,” the Company stated on its Facebook page Wednesday. “Our mission always has been and will continue to be to preserve the IOKA as a working theater. Period.”