Rick Ulmer, owner of the Rose & Crown and Foood for Here and There, announced early Friday evening that he is working on a deal to buy the Dreamland Theater from its current owner, Haim Zahavi.

Rick Ulmer's planned purchase of the Dreamland Theater (right) revives hopes that motion pictures will again be shown at the revered movie house that has been closed for quite some time. "I just want to have a movie theater downtown and maintain it, and I hope to have a ballroom on the second floor," Ulmer said. "We want to build that back to its former self and use it for things like junior and senior proms, and theater groups, and [we want] to put a restaurant on the third floor and just really scale the project back from what it was."

Ulmer said he secured the opportunity to purchase the .15-of-an-acre lot and building at 17 South Water St. (valued at $3,840,500) and the .14-of-an-acre parking lot behind the theater at 18 Easy St. (assessed at $1,960,300) and made an offer to purchase the properties last Thursday. He would not disclose the amount. The purchase-and-sale agreement is currently being worked out by Ulmer's and Zahavi's attorneys. Zahavi, who paid $6 million to the Anastos, Flanagan, Gray and Ruben families for the properties on March 14, 2005, would not reveal his motivation for selling the Dreamland properties.

"It's a personal reason," Zahavi said yesterday morning.

If he does buy the Dreamland and its parking lot, Ulmer plans to sell the parking lot at "fair market value" to the Nantucket Islands Land Bank for use as an in-town park.

THE PRODUCERS

Ulmer wants to start from scratch with the 177-year-old building, scrapping Zahavi's plan for four luxury condominiums on the second and third floors, a restaurant behind the theater and underground parking beneath the restaurant.

Ulmer said that he expects to close on the Dreamland at the end of summer. He said he will be putting together an investment packet for people who want to help with various aspects of the project, that are likely to include a stage on the second floor for performing arts uses and a restaurant on the third floor offering moderately priced food and views of the Easy Street basin.

"At this point, I only know what I am planning on doing," he said. "I know there's been interest in that space for a long time. My hope is with ballroom space on the second floor, I hope to put a stage up there."

Time is of the essence for prospective investors, said Ulmer, who, since going public with his intentions to buy the Dreamland, has already spoken with several people who are interested in the project.

"I'm actively seeking investors and things are moving along at this point," Ulmer said on Monday afternoon. "There is obviously some sense of urgency and someone [who is interested] is going to have to step up; I just want to stress that time is critical."

WAG THE DOG

Ulmer's move to buy the Dreamland Theater appears to have run parallel to a weeklong effort by Selectman Michael Kopko, Nantucket Film Festival Founder Jonathan Burkhart, Christy Cure and Susan Carey, and others who collected more than the necessary 200 signatures to call a special Town Meeting to seek voter approval for town acquisition of the theater. Kopko said that he did not know of Ulmer's efforts to buy the theater or what his timeframe was when he and his group began collecting signatures early on the morning of June 11.

"This all came together really quickly," said Kopko on Friday morning. "Early this week, Jonathan and I had a meeting with some of the stakeholders and nonprofit people on the island. We discussed the potential and the possibility and I said, 'Should we see if the town would like to do this,' and they all said, 'Yes.' And in 36 hours, we got 350 signatures; it was overwhelming how enthusiastic people are about this."

However, now that Ulmer is working out a purchase-and-sale agreement to acquire the Dreamland, the intent of the signature campaign and ensuing special Town Meeting becomes unclear. If Ulmer is successful, there will be no need for the town to step in. If Ulmer's deal does not work out, and another buyer with intentions less benevolent than Ulmer's gets the theater, then a positive vote from the town to obtain the Dreamland might be useful.

"Voting yes on this article doesn't necessarily mean the town has to turn around and act on the Dreamland," said Kopko. "All it does is authorize the town to do that. You never know what's going to happen in the future. At this point, it seems to me that the whole situation is very fluid, so it's going to be tough to know how to proceed."

Should the town buy, or take the theater property by eminent domain, it could then hand it off or lease it to a nonprofit organization with the goal of reopening the historic theater and creating a permanent home for performing arts groups on Nantucket.

THE RESCUERS

Kopko seemed relieved that Ulmer is well on his way to buying the Dreamland because of Ulmer's community-minded acumen and the expense of reviving the theater.

"The magnitude of redeveloping this property is huge, so it is hard for me to imagine anything but a forprofit approach working," said Kopko. "Rick Ulmer is a very savvy guy, he's a good friend of mine and I trust that he knows what he's doing. If I had to pick one person in the community to come forward and do this I would pick Rick Ulmer."

Regardless of who acquires the Dreamland, it will require substantial renovation and repairs to bring it up to code. Real estate broker H. Flint Ranney, who is part of the group of islanders that led the special Town Meeting effort, said the property at 17 South Water St, is likely worth between $9 and $10 million. He added that it could take around $8 million to renovate the building enough to open the theater.

"Sitting there as it is, it's going to require upwards of $5, $6, $8 million dollars to bring it up to do anything you want to do with it," Ranney said.

Although the embattled Zahavi was closing in on the building permit he needed to put a new foundation under the building and rebuild the concession stand in hopes of opening for at least part of the 2007 season, he ran afoul of the town for not opening

the theater for the 2006 season. I