Westfield Mayor Praises Rialto Purchase In Town Council Remarks

WESTFIELD, NJ —Westfield Mayor Shelley Brindle included news about the Rialto theater purchase in her council remarks.

A newly-formed New Jersey non-profit organization, the Westfield Arts Collective will purchase the Rialto building in downtown Westfield.

Mayor Brindle's comments are as follows:

"Interestingly, and what may not be known to many, is that this is a journey whose groundwork was laid even before the theater closed, back in 2018 when we established AddamsFest and began to develop a relationship with the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation through Councilwoman Mackey. That relationship has continued to flourish as Executive Director Kevin Miserocchi has become increasingly involved in our annual festivities to honor both the art and cultural legacy of Charles Addams.In 2019, we established the Public Arts Commission, also under the guidance of Councilwoman Mackey, providing the foundation for an emphasis on the arts in Westfield and the value of public art through the Ricardo Roig murals at the South Avenue circle, the Art Takes Flight exhibit that provided so much joy during the pandemic, and most recently, the Through the Lens photo exhibit and the newly unveiled murals at the Central Avenue underpass.I’m also very proud of the relationship this administration has built with Jesse and Doreen Sayegh, the current owners of the Rialto, which began long before the pandemic. They have always cared deeply about the building’s fate and its place in Westfield’s collective hearts and minds. Just prior to the pandemic, we formed a Rialto Rising volunteer committee composed of residents across a range of expertise in the arts, commercial real estate, and many other fields who stepped up to share their ideas and helped forge a variety of paths about how to drive the best outcome for the building.In August 2020, by designating the property as an area in need of redevelopment, we required a redevelopment plan to be drafted and adopted by this Council, ensuring we would retain control over the site and that any change of use would reflect community desires for the building. As I have repeatedly stated, redevelopment designations do not always merit tax abatements. They simply and importantly give the Town more control over the outcomes, which is the case at the Rialto, and we now have the ability to work directly with the new owners in realizing a new vision for one of Westfield’s most iconic buildings.And finally, in October 2020, we passed an ordinance that changed the zoning in the Town's Central Business district to allow "artisan manufacturing," or the creation of traditional and non-traditional art, which the Center for Creativity at the Rialto states as a key reason that its founding members came together in order to take advantage of this change in zoning law, and began looking for a central location in downtown Westfield that could house such an endeavor.All of this is to say that this outcome did not happen in a vacuum, and is the result of many collaborations among residents, external foundations, property owners, and stakeholders in the arts. I think it’s the ultimate example of using the levers we’ve put in place that emphasize our priorities of community, inclusivity, art, economic development, and smart growth -- and what an exciting result!From the huge response to yesterday’s announcement, it’s clear that the Rialto still holds a place of great significance in the hearts of our residents, and I couldn’t be more thrilled for our community as we eagerly await the building’s revival and its exciting new future."