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Porchlight to renovate historic Ace Theater; county to convey properties and provide $500,000 forgivable loan
Summary
A project development agreement would convey county parcels to Porchlight, which will renovate the historic Ace Theater; the county would lease the theater back as a community center and provide a $500,000 forgivable loan as an incentive, with a purchase option available after year six.
The Mobile County Commission conference included a proposed project development agreement with Porchlight under which Porchlight would acquire two properties at 503 and 505 Congress Street and the county would convey two county-owned properties at 501 and 507 Congress Street. Porchlight would renovate the historic Ace Theater, and once renovations are complete the county would lease the theater from Porchlight for use as a community center, cultural arts and event space for a term of 19 years and 11 months.
Under the terms presented, upon execution of the lease the county would provide an incentive payment in the form of a $500,000 forgivable loan. The lease would include a purchase option beginning in year six; if exercised, the county would forgive the outstanding balance of the loan and terminate or subordinate the mortgage, pending final legal review. The agenda noted that public notice was advertised in a public notice application on Wednesday, April 16.
Why it matters: the proposal would repurpose renovated historic property for a long-term county lease as a community cultural space and uses a sizable forgivable-loan incentive to support renovation.
Details and next steps
The project development agreement, the property conveyances and the forgivable loan were presented as agenda items; the transcript excerpt provides the proposal language but does not record a complete roll-call vote or the final legal review required before closing transactions. The agenda also included a related revision to nominal rent provisions for other county properties to a $1 annual rent subject to county review at the end of the first year and renewal periods.
Ending
The commission’s agenda included the Porchlight project for consideration; staff noted required legal review and the public notice period. The transcript excerpt does not include a final recorded vote in the excerpt provided.
