The Pinnacle Companies Acquires Montclair, NJ's Wellmont Theater

MONTCLAIR, N.J., July 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Pinnacle Companies, along with its institutional investor, a global commercial property company that owns, operates and invests in best-in-class assets, announced today that the firms have collaborated to purchase the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ. The team has closed the theater and is currently investing significant dollars to renovate and upgrade the iconic property, originally built in 1922, into a world-class live entertainment venue.

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"The Wellmont Theater is a tremendous asset for the Township of Montclair, and we are thrilled to bring it up to its full potential as a regional attraction," said Brian M. Stolar, president and CEO, The Pinnacle Companies.

Live Nation Entertainment, the largest concert promoter in the world, will program and manage an expanded lineup of performances and programming when the theater re-opens in September. 

"We're planning to offer more shows and a greater variety of live entertainment options at the Wellmont than before – with a mix of small, medium and large performances," said Sean Striegel, regional senior vice president, music for Live Nation Entertainment.

A music-themed restaurant and bar will be located in the former Xocolatz restaurant space adjacent to the theater, offering food and drink options for patrons. The restaurant will be connected to the lobby of the theater, as originally designed in 1922.  

The team is also pursuing the acquisition of the former Social Security building adjacent to the Wellmont Theater on Bloomfield Avenue in order to support the future, long-term success of the theater in particular and the arts district overall.

Wellmont Theater History
The Wellmont Theater, located at 5 Seymour St., off Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair, NJ, was built in 1922 as a live theater and converted to a motion picture theater in 1929.  The original entrance was at 400 Bloomfield Avenue. In the 1930's, Thomas Edison, inventor of motion pictures, attended movies at the Wellmont. In the 1970's, the theater was tri-plexed and the entry was moved to Seymour Street, while the original lobby was converted to a restaurant. The Wellmont closed in 2006 and reopened in 2008 as a concert venue, with capacity for 2,700 (1,600 for seated shows), making it the largest theater venue in the area. 

About The Pinnacle Companies
A privately held regional real estate development firm, The Pinnacle Companies is based in Montclair, NJ, where the firm worked with the Township of Montclair to create the Montclair Center Gateway Redevelopment Plan (known as CentroVerde), which includes The MC hotel and the mixed-use Valley & Bloom project.  Pinnacle also developed The Siena mixed-use building on the site of the former Hahne & Co. department store in Montclair. Other notable Pinnacle projects in New Jersey include Maxwell Place, a 1,500,000 square foot mixed-use project on the site of the former Maxwell House coffee factory in Hoboken, developed as a joint venture with Toll Brothers, and Crystal Pointe in Jersey City, a 41-story, 269-unit luxury condominium tower in a joint venture with Fisher Development.  www.pinnaclecompanies.net @ThePinnacleCo       

About Live Nation Entertainment
Live Nation Entertainment LYV is the world's leading live entertainment company comprised of global market leaders: Ticketmaster, Live Nation Concerts, Live Nation Media & Sponsorship and Artist Nation Management. For additional information, visit www.livenationentertainment.com.

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SOURCE The Pinnacle Companies