NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) — New York City live music venue and festival owner Avant Gardner filed for bankruptcy after it failed to re-open its flagship outdoor stage, the Brooklyn Mirage, following a costly renovation that’s encountered unexpected problems.
The stage had been slated to re-open in May, but the renovation has been hindered by cost overruns, delays and permitting problems. The venue, in a gritty section of East Williamsburg, was in the news over the past couple years after two people who had been at the club — one of whom was an analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. — were found dead in the vicinity in separate incidents. The overhaul included proposals to improve safety.
While some events have been shifted to Avant Gardner’s smaller venues, the loss of Brooklyn Mirage has been “catastrophic” to the company and resulted in a “significant liquidity crisis,” Avant Gardner Chief Executive Officer Gary Richards said in a Monday court filing.
AGDP Holding, the parent company of Avant Gardner LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware with around $155.3 million in funded debt obligations, according to court filings. The Brooklyn Mirage, which had a 5,300-person capacity before the renovation, and other assets which include the Electric Zoo electronic music festival, will likely hit the auction block in order to repay lenders.
The redesigned Brooklyn Mirage included new technology and “a large timber structure” that would reside above the crowd, Richards said. But on April 29, Avant Gardner received a letter from New York City building inspectors revoking the temporary permit under which Brooklyn Mirage had been operating. The venue has been unable to get a new permit despite a number of follow-up meetings, Richards said.
Remediation Plan
Monday’s court filing also blamed contractors for construction problems related to the renovation. Avant Gardner is continuing to work with the New York City Department of Buildings on a remediation plan, according to court documents.
Richards attributed the timing of the bankruptcy filing to “increasingly aggressive collection activities” from certain financiers and contractors. Since May, some of Avant Gardner’s lenders have advanced the company about $20 million to keep it afloat. The company also took on earlier financing to complete the Brooklyn Mirage renovation, and the terms of those transactions are in dispute, Richards said.
He said in a statement Monday that he entered the post two months ago “to rebuild the company’s culture and turn the business around.” He has been on the board of AGDP Holding and has worked in various roles in the music industry, including as a touring DJ under the name Destructo, according to court documents.
Avant Gardner has faced other problems. In 2023, the company hosted the Electric Zoo Festival, which was slapped with a class-action lawsuit after it canceled its first day on short notice and denied access to some festival-goers. Avant Gardner acquired the operator of New York City’s largest electronic dance music festival in 2022, according to court documents.
Avant Gardner’s key lender, Axar Capital Management, has agreed to provide around $45.8 million in debtor-in-possession financing, which it will use alongside other obligations to bid for Avant Gardner’s assets, court documents indicate. A spokesperson for Axar declined to comment further.
The case is AGDP Holding Inc, case number 25-11446, in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
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