Tag Archives
Hammer falls on the Italian Forum
After more than a year of uncertainty and bitter disputes the Italian Forum on Norton Street has been sold to the Italian cultural organisation Co. As. It. The contracts were exchanged on Friday (November 28) and the organisation paid $2.8 million for the site. The Italian population in Leichhardt has drastically reduced and the Forum […]
The story behind the Italian Forum Cultural Centre deadlock
The ongoing tension surrounding the sale of the Italian Forum Cultural Centre is just the latest installment in a long history of debate over the centre’s proper use and ownership. In the story’s latest development, the Business Management Committee (BMC), which opposes Leichhardt Council’s proposal to sell the cultural centre to Italian language and community […]
Tension over sale of Italian Forum Cultural Centre rises
The Italian Forum’s Business Management Committee (BMC) has begun a public campaign to put pressure on Leichhardt Council to stop its fight for the sale of the Italian Forum Cultural Centre to local Italian language and community services facility, Co.As.It. Sol Michael, a strata representative to the Business Management Committee and owner of a fashion […]
The Italian stand-off
Six weeks after first announcing it had been “saved”, Leichhardt Council has signed off on a plan to sell the Italian Forum Cultural Centre to Co. As. It., an Italian community organisation, in a move that appears to defy the recommendation of the administrators, SV Partners. Under the $2.2 million deal, all creditors would be […]
Pop-ups not propping up profit
Store owners in the Italian Forum are ambivalent about the initial results of Renew Leichhardt, a scheme which has turned four vacant shop fronts into pop-up stores in a bid to attract shoppers back to the area. Two months after the first shop opened, it is clear the initiative won’t be a panacea for the […]
Battle to salvage Cultural Centre deal
EXCLUSIVE Leichhardt Council is fighting to save a deal that would see the Italian Forum Cultural Centre sold to Italian community group Co. As. It. and the facility permanently leased to the Actors Centre Australia. A council media release in January claiming “a future has been secured” for the insolvent cultural centre now appears to […]
Doubts linger after Italian Forum sale
EXCLUSIVE The future of the Italian Forum Cultural Centre has been plunged back into uncertainty after the leading bid collapsed and Leichhardt Council approved a sale to Italian cultural organisation Co. As. It. Council intends for Co. As. It. to share the facility with the Actors Centre Australia, which has already moved into the building […]
Forum must adapt to the times
OPINION The Italian Forum’s embattled cultural centre, for so long the unfortunate victim of disorder, spite, bureaucracy and a failure of imagination, will soon be under new management. Whether Tick Tock Services and its lessee, the Actors Centre Australia, can turn that tide around is at this point anyone’s guess. But it’s far from the […]
Childcare provider snaps up Forum
Creditors of the Italian Forum Limited (IFL) have agreed to sell the insolvent entity to childcare provider Tick Tock Services. IFL controls the Italian Forum’s cultural centre, including a state-of-the-art auditorium, rehearsal space and kitchen. As part of the resolution, the space will be leased to Actors Centre Australia (ACA), an acting school which boasts […]
Builder makes bid for Italian Forum
EXCLUSIVE The beleaguered Italian Forum Limited has received a takeover offer from its largest creditor, Novati Constructions, which built the first phase of the cultural centre. Novati has offered to pay all creditors, which amounts to $2.4 million, and would sign a 15-year lease for the Actors Centre Australia to occupy the space. The company […]
