Castle group has defaulted on its original deal, city says

City officials say they are evaluating options to address a default on the part of the Castle Community ownership group.

The city had given the Castle ownership until March 31 to come up with a plan to meet the terms of the original contract. However, the city said it did not receive a response from the group by the deadline.

It is unclear what will happen next with the building, which the city sold to the current owners in 2017 following a request for proposals. The contract signed with the city gives the Castle ownership group up to 60 days to remedy the issues outlined in the default. A city spokesperson said additional updates could come as early as this week.

The Castle tenant at the center of the contract dispute, Echo Church, announced last week it would be leaving its space on the second floor of the building. That leaves only Cameo restaurant on the first floor.

The city had notified the Castle owners in November that they were in breach of contract for allowing Echo to continue using the second floor space. The church had moved in during the early stages of the pandemic when many other events had been canceled due to the virus.

The city, however, pointed to language in the original 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.”

At the time, Castle ownership said it was navigating short-term difficulties caused by the pandemic, but remained committed to restoring the “vision of the Castle that was presented to the community.”

After originally giving the Castle 60 days to come into compliance, the city agreed to extend the deadline to March 31 at the request of the Castle group. The group said it needed additional time to negotiate with new partners.

Those plans, however, never materialized, according to the city.

Castle co-owner Scott Hoss, who has served as the spokesperson for the Castle ownership, did not respond to our requests for comment.

The Castle group is also in the midst of ongoing litigation with Cameo, which alleges that the Castle ownership breached its contract with the restaurant by failing to activate the top two floors of the building in the way it originally represented it would. The defendants named in the lawsuit, which also includes Threshold Arts, the nonprofit previously responsible for managing the second floor, have denied the claims.

Threshold is now responsible for breathing new life into the city-owned Chateau Theatre, which sits only a few blocks from the Castle. The goal, according to Threshold, is to work with community partners to begin activating the space as soon as this spring or early summer.

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

Cover photo: File / The Castle building on North Broadway