Summerfield Cinemas is set to remain open — for now — after a deal to sell the east Santa Rosa shopping center where the theater is located fell through, threatening connected plans for a future Planet Fitness there.

Plans to convert the theater into a gym were first proposed in fall 2023 and came as the Lakeside Shopping Center was in escrow with a new owner.

But that sale, in the works for about 19 months, has been called off, according to a representative of the property owner, Lynn Duggan and the Duggan Family Limited Partnership.

What that means for the long-term future of the Summerfield theater is unclear.

The property owner continues to seek another buyer for the 4.22-acre site. It’s not clear whether Planet Fitness still intends to open there under a different owner, but plans that had been moving through the city development process are now in limbo.

Movie enthusiasts and community members who have rallied to protect the theater say the Summerfield is integral to the community’s fabric and they’ve argued a large, corporate-owned gym would take away from the atmosphere cultivated at the shopping center by locally owned businesses.

The collapse of the sale has provided a short reprieve to those who continue seeking alternatives that would keep the theater open, supporters said.

“We’re hopeful that this is a little bit of a reprieve for the theater, that this gives space for the theater to remain long-term,” said Derek Stefan, a member of the Citizens Committee to Save Summerfield Cinemas.

For now, the theater continues showing the latest releases and advertising ticket sales for upcoming screenings through May.

Dan Tocchini, whose family owns and operates Summerfield Cinemas, didn’t respond to a voicemail seeking comment and emails to the company’s vice president went unanswered.

Incoming buyers sought new anchor tenant

The Tocchini family took over operations of the Summerfield Road theater in 2010 and previously operated a cinema there prior to 2000.

Tocchini told The Press Democrat over the summer the business had been struggling financially since the COVID-19 pandemic and amid historic Hollywood strikes in 2023, with fewer arthouse and independent films being released in theaters.

Still, he said he didn’t have plans to shut down when he was notified by the incoming property owners that they intended to redevelop the space.

City records show plans were submitted to the city in September 2023 by developer George Arce Jr. and a New Hampshire-based Planet Fitness franchisee who owns other locations in Northern California.

Arce’s company, Centers Dynamic Partners of San Mateo, had been in negotiations to purchase the Lakeside center since that May.

Plans called for renovating the 14,200-square-foot cinema building, upgrading plumbing, electrical and mechanical equipment, and upgrading the building facade.

The city’s Zoning Administrator approved in July a minor conditional use permit allowing the conversion.

The Summerfield Campaign appealed the approval to the Planning Commission, which upheld the decision in October, but members had since been working with Arce to find other potential business models that would allow the theater to remain open, including dividing the shopping center into small parcels and selling off the theater building.

Purchase emerges amid legal dispute

Rumors that the sale of the shopping center had fallen through began circulating at the theater in early November.

Leon Geisberg, who is representing owners Lynn Duggan and the Duggan Family Limited Partnership, confirmed Dec. 30 to The Press Democrat the sale didn’t close and the property had been relisted. He declined to provide additional details.

The property was under contract amid a legal dispute between family members who manage the partnership.

In a lawsuit filed in Sonoma County Superior Court in 2021, Sean Duggan, one of the partnership’s members, accused his father Lynn Duggan and sister Kelly Moffat of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud in the management of the partnership. The defendants have denied wrongdoing.

The sale of the property, the partnership’s sole asset, is a key issue in the lawsuit.

Sean Duggan, in court filings, argued the property was being sold at a deflated price and he raised issues with the terms of the sale, including a stipulation that called for seller financing of more than half the purchase price “on unfavorable terms.” He sought a court order to prevent his father and sister from selling the property without his permission, which a judge denied.

The property had been on the market for years but the Duggans had been unable to sell the shopping center despite several price reductions and interest from potential buyers.