Just a week ago, Fort Lauderdale art and music space the Collide Factory shuttered its doors in FAT Village for good. Not a happy moment for local artists, and especially Collide Brand Partners' Travis Webster.
A bit of the Collide Factory's downfall is detailed in Stefan Kamph's cover story encircling FAT Village's current state, and even more details emerge in his reporting today.
It seems there was a huge rent dispute going on between Webster and the warehouse's owner, Doug McCraw.
More at The Juice.McCraw says the reason for the eviction was simple. "He never paidhis rent," says McCraw, adding that "I wanted to see him make it."
Webstersays the property value has "gone way up" because of the improvements
that he and his friends put into the space (polished floor, indoor
shipping containers, air conditioning), and that now it "makes sense for
the landlord to rent it at a higher rate. He's evicting us."
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