Bellevue Theater Owner Plans to Renovate the Venue Into a Residential Building With Theater Space

Following last week's falling through of plans to renovate the historic Bellevue Theatre, the venue's owner is considering a residential and retail project with a theater on the ground level, Montclair Local reports.

There were originally plans in place to renovate the venue into six theaters, a restaurant, and a bar, but owner Jesse Sayegh terminated Bellevue Enterprises/Highgate Hall LLC's lease due to "breach of contract" last week.

Sayegh said the group attempted to make "a lot of demands that no rational landlord would accept." He did not elaborate on what the group was asking for or what it had been paying in rent.

Now, Sayegh says that he will seek approval from the town to renovate the existing building into retail and a theater/auditorium on the first floor and residential units on the second and third floors.

"The building will not be torn down. It will be preserved," he said.

The property is located in the Upper Montclair Historic Business District, which was established as a local landmark district in 2006.

Read more on Montclair Local.