The Montgomery City Council has given the owner of the former Rose Supper Club 90 days to explain how he will save the historic property.
Cheikh Robertson told the city council he was not aware that the building at 954 Highland Ave. was scheduled to be demolished when he purchased it. The building is located in the Centennial Hill district, a neighborhood that is on the National Register of Historic Places, and Robertson said that he is working to have the building designated as a historic landmark.
“Ultimately, I just believe that it would be best for us to use available resources to improve rather than demolish,” he told the council. He said an engineer has determined that the building is salvageable.
While the city council did not rescind the demolition order, they agreed to give Robertson 90 days to hire an architect and provide renovation plans and proof of funding.
The building stands on an acre of land. The southeast corner of the lot is a greenspace that may be used for urban agriculture. The south to southeast corner could serve as a project spot for outdoor movies. Other spaces could be used for outdoor dining and farmers markets, Robertson said.
A portion of the building where the roof has collapsed may become a courtyard, he said.
Robertson said he wants to use the building or an adjacent building as a mixed-use development with a theater, exhibition space and a library.
“We’re very interested in literacy, training and wellness programs and eventually artist residencies,” he said.
The building was known as the State Theater in the 1940s, as Club Delisa in the 1950s, as Top Flight Disco in the 1970s and 1980s, and as the Rose Supper Club in the 1990s and early 2000s.
“Each decade represents just a treasure trove of legends that have gone through, of sights and sounds and resources,” Robertson said. “As we’ve gone through this interior debris and cleanup, we’ve uncovered things that mean a lot to a lot of people.”
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