Riverhead Sells 144-Year-Old Vail-Leavitt Music Hall to Jazz Loft for $150,000

The Town of Riverhead transferred ownership of the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall to The Jazz Loft on March 17, completing a $150,000 sale that ends years of legal disputes over the 144-year-old downtown theater and hands its future to a Stony Brook-based nonprofit with $5 million in ticket revenues over the past five years.

Thomas Manuel, founder and president of The Jazz Loft, attended the closing alongside several board members. "I am incredibly grateful to my Board of Directors, the Riverhead Town Board, the current and past Town Supervisor, and especially the numerous residents and community leaders from Riverhead that have come on board to support The Jazz Loft and our vision for a renewed Vail-Leavitt theater," Manuel said. "This theater is a national historic treasure."

Town Supervisor Jerry Halpin called the deal the product of years of work spanning multiple administrations. "Today's closing is the culmination of several years of dedication and hard work put in by the Town Board, previous Supervisors Tim Hubbard and Yvette Aguiar, and The Jazz Loft," Halpin said. "I have no doubt Tom and his team will devote themselves to restoring this once lively facility to its former glory."

The Vail-Leavitt, built in 1881, has a complicated recent history. Riverhead Town purchased the building in 1980 and conveyed it two years later to the Council for the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall, a nonprofit created to restore and operate the space as a performing arts center. In 2023, the town sued to reclaim the property under a reverter clause in the deed after determining the building was not being properly maintained or operated as a cultural arts center. Control ultimately reverted to the town, which then moved to find a new operator.

The Town Board approved The Jazz Loft as the qualified and eligible operator before the sale advanced, though the process drew criticism from some quarters. Complaints arose that the town never issued a Request for Proposal. Town Attorney Erik Howard defended the approach, noting the property's classification under urban renewal area rules. "The process is designed to be more flexible, so that the town board can identify a qualified and eligible sponsor that will, in their assessment, have the best chance of redeveloping the distressed property," Howard said. "There's nothing in this process that has been done incorrectly." The Town Board ultimately voted to sell in what Newsday described as a rare split vote. Councilman Ken Rothwell, who had initially opposed the sale, came around to supporting it, saying it "has the potential to be a really great project."

Then-Supervisor Tim Hubbard signed the contract of sale for $150,000 in December, with the closing finalized Monday under Halpin's watch.

The Jazz Loft reported $256,000 in cash and $850,000 in equity at a recent public hearing, with ticket revenues exceeding $5 million over the last five years. The organization has prior experience in historic preservation, having previously restored a structure dating to the 1770s as part of its performing space in Stony Brook. Plans for the Vail-Leavitt call for completing critical infrastructure work this winter and reopening the theater next summer, with renovation funding drawn from Riverhead community donors, Suffolk County, and New York State.

Councilwoman Denise Merrifield praised the new owner's credentials. "The Jazz Loft is a renowned organization that's dedicated to jazz education and preservation, while also attracting and showcasing performers playing various styles of music from big band, swing, jazz, Sinatra, and Rat-Pack era songs," Merrifield said.

Manuel has said he envisions The Jazz Loft contributing to a growing downtown arts district anchored by the Suffolk Theater and East End Arts Council, and hopes to host dance ensembles and other community groups at the Vail-Leavitt alongside jazz performances and education programs. Halpin said the restoration stands to benefit more than music fans: "He will restore and preserve this venue and help drive economic prosperity to our downtown restaurants and shops. The Jazz Loft will culturally enrich our town for many years to come.