The owner of a renovated theater along South Broadway is back on good terms with its lender.
Sonquist LLC, which owns the Jewel Theater at 1912 S. Broadway in Denver, exited bankruptcy Feb. 6.
The entity managed by real estate attorney Doug Norberg and business partner Paul Yaft filed for Chapter 11 on Jan. 23 to prevent the building’s lender, MidWestOne Bank, from foreclosing.
MidWestOne, which took over the building’s $2.3 million loan when it acquired Bank of Denver in 2024, withdrew its foreclosure effort Feb. 3, records show.
“All issues and litigation have been fully resolved,” Norberg and Yaft said in a statement. “On the Jewel, we were navigating occupancy-related delays with the City that required additional time and capital and we took the steps we needed to preserve the property and create runway.”
Norberg previously said the pair skipped mortgage payments so they’d have cash to install a sprinkler system the city mandated.
The Jewel Theater was built as a cinema in 1926. By the 1970s, it was showing pornographic films. In the 1990s, a climbing gym moved in and operated for 25 years before closing in early 2018. Norberg and Yates bought the building for $1.6 million that December and sought to renovate it to its former glory.
“Interest in the property has been strong, and we are actively entertaining lease proposals from operators who recognize its uniqueness, visibility and viability,” the pair said.
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