It was a little touch-and-go there for a while, but Brisbane's historic Tivoli Theatre has been spared redevelopment after a "group of passionate live music lovers" banded together to buy the venue and maintain it as a space for live music, it has been reported.
According to the Brisbane Times, ex-Brisbane Powerhouse producer Dave Sleswick, his brother Steven and Dalton Catering's Jerome Dalton are the men responsible for the successful bid, which has been agreed to by the sellers, the family O'Rourke, who have owned the venue since 1999.
The news comes following a tumultuous period for the iconic music hall, which was thrust into the spotlight after expressions of interest were opened with an option for redevelopment.
The revelation sparked a community movement against redeveloping the Tivoli, with a change.org petition being set up in an attempt to secure Heritage status for the theatre before a bid from local businessman Scott Hutchinson sparked the first flames of hope that the venue could be saved.
The Brisbane Times reports that the finalised sale — reportedly for about $9 million — should be made unconditional "before the end of the month", with an anonymous source telling Fairfax, "It's exactly what Brisbane wanted to happen to it."
"It is to be retained as a music venue so they will keep with the live music but include more performing arts, functions and events," they said. "But basically it will be doing exactly what it has been doing."
