Senator Theatre

Towson University and its radio station, WTMD-FM, have withdrawn their proposal to turn Baltimore's historic Senator Theatre into a studio and performing arts center. The request to withdraw the proposal came from Towson officials shortly after noon Wednesday, said Kimberly Clark, executive director of the Baltimore Development Corp., the quasi-public agency that will decide who operates the 71-year-old movie house. The city took over operation in July after then-owner Tom Kiefaber could not keep up with mortgage payments and the theater was put up for auction.

Baltimore's 71-year-old Senator Theatre will either continue as a full-time movie venue or morph into a performing-arts center and home to Towson University's WTMD radio, officials of the quasi-public agency charged with mapping its future announced Tuesday. "We felt that these were the most comprehensive proposals," said Kimberly Clark, executive director of the Baltimore Development Corp., which had received four proposals from individuals or companies interested in operating the Senator.

The historic Senator Theatre closed Thursday to begin renovations, said an operator of the movie house, which opened on York Road in 1939. The theater will be closed for six-to-nine months, said James "Buzz" Cusack, who runs the North Baltimore landmark with his daughter, Kathleen Lyon. When it reopens, the building will house a restaurant and three new theaters as well as the original auditorium, he said. The renovations will cost more than $3 million, Cusack said. steve.kilar@baltsun.com twitter.com/stevekilar

The Baltimore Development Corp. has agreed to sell the historic Senator Theatre to its current operators, officials said Thursday. The BDC's acting president, Kimberly A. Clark, announced the sale to Kathleen Cusack and her father James "Buzz" Cusack at a board of directors meeting but did not disclose the terms of the sale. Reached by phone, Kathleen Cusack said details were still being worked out. "It certainly makes more sense for the city and for us," she said. "It's a step in the right direction.

Baltimore's Board of Estimates is expected to approve the sale of the Senator Theatre to its current operators Wednesday for $500,000. Senator Theatre LLC, a company controlled by James “Buzz” Cusack and his daughter, Kathleen Lyon, has leased the theater from the city since August 2010. The city bought the Senator a year earlier, as it was nearing foreclosure, then selected Cusack and Lyon to run it. The father-daughter team also has a 40-year lease on the Charles Theatre, they said.

Operators of the Senator Theatre won approval from the city's historical preservation board Tuesday to renovate the North Baltimore landmark and expand it with three new screens and a wine bar. The city's Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation approved plans to preserve the iconic, single-screen theater on York Road and to construct two additions that would house a total of three additional theaters and a wine bar with...

Baltimore's spending panel agreed Wednesday to sell the historic Senator Theatre at a $310,000 loss — over the objections of the city's comptroller. "I just think it's too generous," said Comptroller Joan M. Pratt, citing the city's purchase of the theater at an auction in 2009 for $810,000 and the selling price of $500,000. The Board of Estimates approved the sale to the Senator's current operators by 4-1 vote. Pratt cast the lone "no" vote. Senator Theatre LLC, a company controlled by James "Buzz" Cusack and his daughter, Kathleen Lyon, has leased the theater from the city since August 2010.

Thomas A. Kiefaber, a candidate for City Council president, has been ordered to stay away from the historic theater he once owned after its new operator alleged he assaulted staff members on the opening night of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2," court documents show. The scene ended with city police barring Kiefaber from entering the Senator Theatre , the documents state. Baltimore District Judge Shannon Elizabeth Avery signed a temporary peace order Friday, instructing Kiefaber not to contact Kathleen C. Cusack and to stay away from the Senator and the Charles Theatre , which she operates with her father.

The troubled Senator Theatre, a North Baltimore landmark for 71 years, will be heading back into the first-run movie business as early as next month. The Baltimore Development Corp. announced Friday that Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has accepted its recommendation that Charles Theatre owner James "Buzz" Cusack and his daughter, Kathleen, lease the Senator and manage it with hopes to screen Hollywood blockbusters and Oscar contenders. The Cusacks must nail down the details in their proposal, and the Board of Estimates must approve.

If all goes well, Sofi's Crepes and celebrity sidewalk blocks will happily co-exist in the renovation and expansion of a North Baltimore landmark. In a Tuesday afternoon hearing, the Baltimore City Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation approved a new concept for the Senator Theatre that includes the building of a 120-seat theater in the south side of the building and a restaurant and crepe shop in a redeveloped "north wing....