- 71 -
The deed restrictions effectively prohibit demolition
of the building. Furthermore, without even such
restrictions, any attempt to demolish the building
would likely encounter vocal public opposition and a
complicated process to obtain a demolition permit.
b. As Improved
With respect to the highest and best use of the property as
improved, Mansbach gave consideration to the Redwood City Fox's
"poor operating history", "average" physical condition, and its
"poor suburban location". Mansbach also considered the Redwood
City Fox's "limited purchase market appeal":
Overall, it is concluded that there is a very
narrow purchase market for the subject theater. The
primary purchaser of the historic movie palaces
nationwide is a public or non-profit entity. However,
this purchase segment typically involves redevelopment
agencies within cities, and/or historic foundations.
Even public entity purchases of historic theaters over
the past decade have generally been limited to urban
locations and involved only a few transactions. As
such, due to the lack of activity within this purchase
market, there is scant evidence to support a highest
and best use conclusion for the subject improvements to
renovate it to a modern stage facility.
Despite these considerations, Mansbach found that the integrated
retail/office portions of the property would have "stronger
demand", and that the "value of the subject as currently improved
exceeds the value on the land only basis." Mansbach also noted
that the Redwood City Fox was "architecturally significant", and
that it had some "intrinsic value regardless of its
profitability." Mansbach thus concluded that overall,
preservation of the existing improvements on the subject site
Page: Previous 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 NextLast modified: May 25, 2011