"The building that hosts the venue was listed at just over $4.5 million, and it quietly sold to a Silicon Valley real estate investment group called GSH Ventures, which started the pre-application process last December to demolish the Catalyst and build "a 7-story mixed-use building with 64 residential condominium units" in its place."
"The Catalyst greets visitors with both a sneer and a side of hope that it would always remain an unofficial epicenter of this slightly possessed oceanfront town's paradise lost. But that certainty is seemingly about to come to an end."
"Last July, the Catalyst quietly was put up for sale by the heirs of longtime owner Randall Kane, who was the face behind the music venue and welcomed seminal acts on their meteoric rise, from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam and Nirvana to E-40 and Alanis Morissette. Nearly every notable name, from across musical genres, set foot in the Catalyst during its 1990s heyday."
"Changing out the Catalyst for condos just isn't something the majority of Santa Cruz wants, local artist Jay Brown told SFGATE. And so, he and friend Jeremy Stone recently decided to get together and do something about it - before it's too late."
The Catalyst is a long-running oceanfront music venue tied to Santa Cruz’s evolving music culture from the 1990s through later punk and hardcore scenes. The venue’s building was listed for just over $4.5 million and sold to GSH Ventures, a Silicon Valley real estate investment group. GSH Ventures began pre-application steps to demolish the Catalyst and replace it with a 7-story mixed-use building containing 64 residential condominium units. Many residents oppose replacing the venue with condos. Local artist Jay Brown and friend Jeremy Stone formed a plan to intervene before the sale and demolition proceed, drawing inspiration from community ownership efforts used in other contexts.
Read at SFGATE
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]