Tivoli Terrace is secure for now as lease is extended

After months of negotiation, representatives from Tivoli Terrace and the Festival of Arts have agreed on a lease extension that will allow the popular wedding and events venue to operate through at least mid-September 2018, festival board President Fred Sattler said this week.

The possibility that both sides might have failed to come to a resolution had caused anxiety among the faithful fans of Tivoli, which has hosted dinners and meetings for community organizations for more than 40 years. Its current one-year lease was set to expire Sept. 14.

Tivoli will still have to close later this year, but only temporarily as the festival site, on Laguna Canyon Road, undergoes a renovation.

The festival, which leases space to Tivoli, will add a new stage, redesigned gallery spaces and refurbished restrooms. The work, expected to begin Oct. 1, will involve regrading the grounds and replacing sewer lines, necessitating the cutoff of water and electricity, Sattler said.

Sattler expects the majority of the work to be done by May 2017, at which time Tivoli would reopen.

Tivoli owner June Neptune said last week that during this time weddings and other events would be moved to Tivoli Too at nearby Art-A-Fair and the Hacienda in Santa Ana.

Tivoli manager Virgilio Gentile said he and Neptune were “content” with the lease agreement, but indicated management may approach the festival next year about an extension beyond September 2018.

“We want to continue this place and not want it to go away,” Gentile said. “It’s a landmark here.”