Bands on eviction: divided on accepting $500,000 offer or fighting on

19 September 2000

At Downtown Rehearsal, about 500 bands are being threatened with a looming eviction.

Building owners, G. Teryl Koch and his son, Greg Koch, presented $500,000 to the musicians to find a new location. The property has been sold and musicians were notified of the eviction on 8 August. Occupants are divided on what action to take; some wants to take a stand and let the court decide, while others want to accept the cash. The tenants are given until Monday to evacuate the facility at 5700 Third St. to get the money.

Gavin Newson, the bridge between the tenants and the building owners, said that resorting to litigation is a big mistake. The Musicians’ attorneys are considering filing a lawsuit as they are about to snub the $500,000 proposal and the deadline for eviction.

There are no certainties on what fraction of around 1,500 tenants is contemplating the lawsuit.

The Louts band member Seamus O’Connell has decided to reside on the Downtown Rehearsal. They are hanging their hopes on Proposal L, whose passage on November would add multimedia companies in the annual limit of construction of new offices inside the city.

However, some believes the $500,000 offer could be used for other purposes in the same direction. Save Local Music Coalition representative John Borland thinks that staying is impractical.

He says, “Five hundred thousand dollars won't buy a new building, but it can go a long way in helping to get a new space. We'd hate to fight the good fight, and at the end of the day have nothing -- no money, no new space and everyone's on the streets.”

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