Former Campus Cinemas building in DeKalb to be demolished after City wins ownership in court

DeKALB - A long-vacant and dilapidated former movie theater in DeKalb’s north side is set to be demolished, as the City of DeKalb prevailed in a years-long court battle to obtain ownership of the property.

The City of DeKalb has been granted a lien for the former Campus Cinemas, 1015 Blackhawk Road, in the amount of $400,000, said DeKalb City Attorney John Donahue after ongoing litigations. The building was owned by Pete Occhipinti, who has over the years petitioned multiple times for a special-use permit to revamp the single-story 15,200-square-foot building. The city denied his request.

Back in September 2016, city officials recommended the commission deny giving a recommendation to the city council for approval of the redevelopment, for a number of reasons, including safety concerns about adding two more stories onto an already feeble structure, as well as parking concerns.

Notably, the roof of the Campus Cinemas building collapsed in November 2017, according to a previous Daily Chronicle report.

"We've been in court many times on this and many conferences with the judge and property owners, and their attorney," Donahue said. "And we're finally at what I hope is the end of the road."

Under the agreement, the city's lien of foreclosure will transfer the property from Occhipinti's ownership to the city.

"There are statutory provisions which will allow us to go to the county and obligate the county to void any past due prior unpaid property taxes on the property," Donahue said. "In other words, when you come entitled to it, we will not have to pay any of the back taxes that do remain unpaid on this property."

Once the deed is handed to the City, $375,000 will be transferred to Occhipinti's attorney's client fund, Donahue said, but not right away. He'll get half when the building is torn down, and the remaining half when the demolition is complete and the area is cleared to a vacant lot.

City Manager Bill Nicklas said that will pave the way for future development in the city's neighborhoods which most need it. He said there's already been some interest from developers in the area.

“The city would own from the corner at Hillcrest and Blackhawk up to Fanatico’s Restaurant,” Nicklas said.”That puts us in a position to seek development proposals for what is a sizable parcel. We all how how important it is to work on redevelopment in this area.”