Castle's future in flux; plus, downtown restaurant takes DMC to court

The City of Rochester says the Castle Community project has breached its contract by continuing to lease key portions of the building to a church.

The city notified Castle ownership of the alleged violation this week, saying the business has 60 days to come back into compliance with the contract.

The city points to language in the Castle’s contract stipulating that the building “must be used for a period of 5 years from Certificate of Occupancy for the advancement of arts and cultural offerings.”

“While Echo Church is there, The Castle, LLC is in breach of contract based on the use of the space,” reads a memo from the city.

The Castle Community project was selected out of five proposals in 2017 by the Rochester City Council. The $675,000 sale came with a commitment from the ownership group to “work with local arts and culture enthusiasts to make the [former armory] a unique and vibrant community asset.”

That concept came to fruition in late 2018 when the Castle opened with an event venue on the third floor; artist studios, a bookstore, juice bar, and common areas on the second floor; and a restaurant on the ground level. (The latter, Cameo restaurant, remains part of the project to this day.)

But when the pandemic hit in 2020, public events and other cultural programming went dark, leaving an opening on the top two floors. Because religious organizations had different limitations on capacity, the Castle ownership opted to enter into a one-year lease with Echo Church.

That lease was expected to expire on Sept. 1 of this year. However, the Castle has allowed Echo to renew the lease twice by two months each time.

Today, the church continues to operate out of the building, creating a cloud of uncertainty about what the Castle ownership plans to do next.

Reached on Wednesday, Naura Anderson, whose nonprofit group Threshold Arts had originally managed the programming in the Castle, said she has not received a clear answer from the ownership as to if or when it would be allowed to resume operations on the second floor.

“I don’t have a clear timeline,” said Anderson. “That is something I have been asking for, and have not received.”

Despite the current impasse, the ownership — made up of Eric Deutsch, Ross Henderson, Scott Hoss and Leyzer Topel — says it remains “committed to the vision of the Castle that was presented to the community.”

The group said this week it is now in “active talks” with the City of Rochester and all other Castle tenants about plans for next steps.

Threshold, meantime, is currently the leading candidate to take over operations of the Chateau Theatre. At Monday’s council meeting, several councilors said they would like to learn Threshold’s status with the Castle before making a decision about what direction to go in with the Chateau.

Anderson, however, said she believes the two should not be tied together, suggesting “there is a way to do both.”

“It’s unfortunate that the two are connected right now,” she said. “This is only going to delay the activation of the Chateau, which we know the community would desperately like to see happen as soon as possible.”

Lawsuit filed against city, DMC

A downtown restaurant has filed a lawsuit against the City of Rochester and the Destination Medical Center Corporation over impacts related to the Heart of the City project.

Toronto-based Jerk King, which opened along Peace Plaza in 2019, alleges the city and DMC “deliberately and intentionally interfered” with the restaurant’s ability to conduct business by putting up fencing and other objects around the business during construction.

“Defendants have shown complete and total indifference to Plaintiff and the business it operates, have not offered any mitigation options to it, and appear intent on driving it, and other small businesses, from the central core of the City of Rochester,” reads the suit, filed earlier this month in Olmsted County District Court by attorney William French.

Jerk King, which has remained closed since the early stages of the pandemic, is seeking compensatory damages in excess of $200,000.

In response to the lawsuit, City Attorney Michael Spindler-Krage said the city and DMC have brought in outside counsel to lead their defense.

The next steps will include a gathering of facts, including what complaints were made with the city/DMC and what, if any, accommodations were made. From there, the defense will file what’s called “an answer.”

The $17 million Heart of the City project began in 2020, during a period in which many businesses were facing shutdowns and other pandemic-related restrictions. The majority of the groundwork finished up this month.

Changes at the Collider Foundation

The Collider Foundation will soon have a new executive director.

Co-founder Jamie Sundsbak announced Wednesday he will be stepping down from the position to take a job with the Mayo Clinic Platform.

Sundsbak will be replaced by Amanda Leightner, the foundation’s current director of communications. (Leightner also runs Rochester Rising.)

“Under Amanda's leadership, Collider Foundation will continue to grow and change as it continues its mission to activate, connect, and empower Rochester's early-stage entrepreneurs and small businesses,” said Sundsbak. “I'm excited to see what's coming next.”

Founded in 2019, the foundation offers co-working space and educational resources to early-stage entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.