Views of the Krikorian site in 2020 and now. (File photos)
The president of the construction company that built the partial walls of the ill-fated Krikorian Theater says he now owns the property and will soon begin plans for the same kind of entertainment venue that was promised previously.
Tom Sharkey, president of TMS Construction, has contacted the City of Menifee to say that he now owns the property and is pursuing similar plans for the site, City Manager Armando Villa said this week.
“I have received verbal communications from Tom that he is now the owner of the land and consequently the entitlements,” Villa said. “However, we still don’t have legal verification of land title change. He claims that documents will be recorded shortly. I have requested those documents as soon as they are available to verify land control. Once that is done, we will begin working with him on development plans.
“At this point, he has indicated that he intends to proceed with the same plan for a theater and will be meeting with prospective operators.”
Former City Council member Lesa Sobek, who has corresponded frequently with Sharkey since the demolition of the partial theater structure, said Sharkey told her he had a lien against the property and is finalizing a transfer of ownership.
TMS Construction filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Showprop Menifee, George Krikorian’s company formed to build an entertainment complex in Menifee, in 2020 after Krikorian shut down production, claiming a loss of funding during the COVID pandemic. In turn, TMS Construction was sued by subcontractors, claiming they weren’t paid for services given during the project.
Krikorian, who no longer returns messages from Menifee 24/7, has maintained ownership of the property on Newport Road in Menifee Town Center since a court ordered demolition of the partial structure following legal action by the City of Menifee in 2024. Details of a possible transfer of ownership to TMS Construction have not been made public. Sharkey did not return messages from Menifee 24/7.
The Kirkorian theater project was first officially announced in May 2014. Originally, Krikorian purchased property and began developing plans for an entertainment complex including 12 theater screens, a bowling alley, sports bar and family entertainment center. Within the next two years, he purchased additional property in Menifee Town Center to build retail buildings fronting Newport Road.
Krikorian broke ground for the theater in early 2019 but halted construction in April of 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Krikorian said he lost funding to resume construction. From that point on, no less than 19 lawsuits were filed regarding the stalled project. It took another five years for the structure to finally be demolished. Now it is a vacant field of weeds and dirt.
On Jan. 6, 2024, a fire destroyed much of the wood structures erected as part of the retail businesses Krikorian planned for the corner of Newport Road and Town Center Drive. An arson investigation was conducted but no arrests were made.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source menifee247.com ’
