A theater that has sat empty in downtown Carlsbad for years finally has a new owner, and one possibility is to fill it with dinner, drinks and live shows instead of shopping carts or moving boxes. The roughly 300-seat Carlsbad Theater, vacant for years, has been sold to a company that says it plans to preserve the building while considering new uses for it.
The sale follows previous efforts by RAF Pacific Group to sell or lease the property, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. RAF Pacific Group, also known as RPG, bought the theater building in 2017 and had been unsuccessful in selling or leasing it since then, per the same account. In February, RAF Pacific listed the two-story, 8,843-square-foot property on the auction platform Ten-X with a starting bid of $600,000, according to North County Pipeline.
Kipp Gstettenbauer, project lead, told the Union-Tribune the building had been empty too long and the owners want to change that. The theater could offer a restaurant, bar and live entertainment. Gstettenbauer is a Senior Vice President at Voit Real Estate Services and is part of its Private Client Group, which specializes in selling and leasing privately held assets in San Diego County, with expertise in rare and interesting properties, according to Voit Real Estate Services, and he has previously brokered historic transactions in the region including San Diego's Santa Fe Depot.
A Landmark Nearly a Century Old
The Carlsbad Theater opened on February 8, 1927, with a full stage, orchestra pit and pipe organ, and hosted vaudeville shows, according to KPBS. Its opening night featured the silent film “It,” starring Clara Bow, per the same report.
Grassroots Push to Save the Marquee
Community members had feared the theater could be demolished for new development, according to the Union-Tribune, especially after RAF Pacific Group published early conceptual plans in 2023 for ground-floor retail space with a modern facade update, as reported by The Coast News. The Save the Carlsbad Theater advocacy group sought a lease for the property, though that effort did not pan out. The group held an event on August 18, 2023, with a reception at New Village Arts and an event at the Carlsbad Theater, according to Save the Carlsbad Theater.
Nate Larson and Ken Kebow, tied to that advocacy effort, proposed community programming for the theater.
City Council Pushed for Preservation Options
Councilmember Melanie Burkholder introduced a motion asking city staff to explore preservation options and gather information about the privately owned theater, according to KPBS.
Building a Downtown Theater District
The theater is in Carlsbad Village on State Street. It's directly across the street from New Village Arts, which operates in a renovated building.
With the Carlsbad Theater's future now in the hands of an owner pledging to preserve the building while considering new uses for it, the block could take shape as a concentrated arts and dining corridor ahead of the theater's February 2027 centennial.
