Statement of the City of Riverside Regarding Status of Mission Inn Museum
Published: 10/19/2023
Statement of the City of Riverside Regarding Status of Mission Inn Museum
- The City of Riverside has worked closely with the Historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa and the Mission Inn Foundation to assist with the operation of the Foundation’s museum within the hotel since the City, through the Riverside Redevelopment Agency, a separate entity, facilitated the reopening of the hotel in 1992.
- In 2000 a lease was entered into between the Historic Mission Inn Corporation and the Riverside Redevelopment Agency for space within the Mission Inn. That space was then subleased by the Redevelopment Agency to the Mission Inn Foundation at no cost for the Foundation’s museum. The lease was for a term of 22 years, with two options to renew for an additional ten years each.
- That Redevelopment Agency, like all such agencies across California, was dissolved by the state Legislature in 2013. In accordance with dissolution legislation passed in 2013, a separate Successor Agency for the Redevelopment Agency was created to wind down all redevelopment activities from the now-defunct Redevelopment Agency. The Riverside City Council was appointed to serve as the Board of Directors for the Successor Agency for the Redevelopment Agency with the mandate to close out all prior actions and dealings of the former Redevelopment Agency.
- In 2022, with the lease between the Historic Mission Inn Corporation set to expire on December 31, 2022, the Riverside City Council, in its capacity as Board of Directors for the Successor Agency, voted unanimously to renew the lease with the Historic Mission Inn Corporation in accordance with the 2000 lease, in an effort to ensure the museum’s future.
- The attempt to renew the lease in 2022, however, required the approval of the State Department of Finance in Sacramento. The request to renew the lease was denied, with the Department of Finance stating, “Pursuant to HSC section 34163(c)(1), successor agencies shall not renew or extend the term of leases.”
- Despite the restraints of state government regarding the lease, the City has worked cooperatively with the Historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa and the Mission Inn Foundation for almost two years in an effort to find alternative sites, create a transition plan and generally facilitate a good outcome. To date, however, these efforts between the Mission Inn and the Mission Inn Foundation have not borne fruit.
- On Sept. 29, 2023, the Historic Mission Inn Corporation served the Successor Agency for the Redevelopment Agency and the Mission Inn Foundation with a notice to vacate the premises. As the primary tenant on the lease, the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency then served the same notice to its sub-tenant, the Mission Inn Foundation.
- The City recognizes the importance of the Mission Inn, the value of the museum and the many, many hours that docents have devoted to providing tours of the Inn and supporting the Foundation. The City remains hopeful a solution still can be reached
