Ioka theater building no longer listed for sale

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EXETER — The “For Sale” sign that went up outside the historic Ioka theater earlier this year is now gone, but the future of the downtown landmark remains uncertain.

The nearly century-old brick theater at 53 Water St. was put on the market for $499,900 with Ruffner Real Estate in February.

The level of interest from any potential buyers isn’t known, but the sign was recently removed and the property no longer appears on real estate listings.

Ruffner Real Estate owner Florence Ruffner declined to comment on the status of the property, which is now owned by well-known Kensington philanthropist Alan Lewis.

The Ioka closed in 2008 amid financial troubles and has remained dark after years of failed attempts to reopen it.

Lewis purchased the building at auction in 2011 and hoped that it would be renovated and eventually open its doors once again as a community-run theater.

Lewis tried to work out a deal with the Exeter Theater Company and offered to sell the 6,000-square-foot building to the nonprofit group for $400,000, but they failed to reach an agreement.

The theater company suspended its effort last November.

Lewis could not be reached for comment on Monday.

The shuttered theater has left a hole in the heart of downtown Exeter.

Members of the local business community said they remain hopeful that the Ioka will come back to life someday.

“I’ve always seen the Ioka as something with tremendous potential, but I really can’t speak to the economics of reviving it. The Ioka is probably at a crossroad between revival as a community theater or something else, like condos,” said Michael Schidlovsky, president of the Exeter Area Chamber of Commerce.

Several neighboring businesses said they still miss the Ioka because it brought more foot traffic to downtown.

Janice Earley, a manager who’s worked at the nonprofit Exeter Fine Crafts for 20 years, recalled how the theater once brought window shoppers to Water Street.

“It’s really sad,” she said. “I can remember when there were lines down the street in front of the store.”

Even if downtown shops were closed when those lines formed at night, owners said the theater was still good for their downtown businesses.

John Segal, owner of A Picture’s Worth A Thousand Words, said Ioka patrons would pass by his shop’s windows and if they saw something interesting on display, they would either call or return.

“It drew people downtown when the movies were going night after night,” said Segal, whose shop offers custom picture framing, fine and decorative regional art, and rare and collectable books, maps and antique prints.

While the Ioka remains closed with no sign of life, Segal is optimistic.

“It’s prime real estate. Exeter continues to be viable,” he said.

Edna Howard, owner of the Chocolatier, said she’s hopeful as well.

“I would definitely like to see it open up in some way. I’m pretty optimistic that somebody will eventually buy it and do something with it,” said Howard, who worked at the popular downtown chocolate shop for many years before purchasing the business last October.

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