27 Apr ‘Buying a Money Pit’: Richmond Rejects Craneway Pavilion Donation

(Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

A pathway to economic development or a more than $12 million money pit? The Richmond City Council this week was split over an offer to take over the historic Craneway Pavilion.

Members on Tuesday rejected a donation from leaseholder Orton Entertainment LLC that would have placed the building located at 1414 Harbour Way, what was formerly the Ford Assembly Plant, in the city’s hands.

Soheila Bana, Cesar Zepeda and Vice Mayor Doria Robinson questioned the cost of maintaining the facility. Deferred maintenance would have cost the city $12.7 million over 10 years, according to an analysis. Leaving it empty would have also cost the city $600,000 each year.

“It should be a center of economic activity. I more and more believe that this is not the right time to do that when we’ve been making so much progress in the core of the city,” said Robinson. “I feel like we’re buying a money pit.”

Robinson, at first the sole abstention of a vote to approve the donation, later joined Bana, Zepeda and council member Jamelia Brown in a separate vote to reject the deal. Mayor Eduardo Martinez and council members Claudia Jimenez and Sue Wilson voted in favor of accepting the donation.

In 2004, then-council members entered into a lease agreement with developer Orton Entertainment that set a deal of $1 per year for 55 years. But because of an evergreen clause, that deal continues past that time with no end date.

The building, used during World War II to assemble vehicles, has historically hosted events like roller derbies, July 3 festivities and a craft fair. Activities shifted in 2024, when PB Development Group leased the space and opened pickleball courts.

Residents protested the courts. The California State Lands Commission shot the use down soon after, saying that it was not consistent with the purpose of the land because it was not open to the public. Orton terminated the tenant, according to former city attorney and now special counsel Dave Aleshire.

Wilson said in a newsletter ahead of the meeting that the original deal was so “strongly tilted in the developer’s favor” that the power imbalance continued to this day.

“Saying no to the deal on the table now does not mean Orton comes back with more money for the city. It just takes all the decisions about the future of the Craneway out of our hands,” wrote Wilson.

But taking over the facility’s financial needs of at least the $12.7 million was not considered a gift by Bana, who said they should not be responsible for someone else’s obligation.

“That’s not moral. That’s not ethical. That’s not correct,” said Bana. “We have no plan, we have no use, we don’t have anyone to run it, we don’t have the resources, we don’t have an event manager. Nothing. So we’re just going to get $12 million of liability. What for?”

Orton would have thrown in $80,000 for expenses and protected the city from a current lawsuit brought by PB Development.

Even with the deal, staff said the city could have spent up to $2.5 million a year to operate the site.

Orton has indicated that it could instead give the facility to an operator that would use it for marine use, according to Aleshire.

Officials could pursue litigation against Orton for allegedly breaching its agreement with the city as it relates to keeping the facility in “good condition.” Though special counsel Anne Lanphar said that the language is “loosey goosey,” meaning it could leave things open to interpretation.