last novemberthe city of Orlando has terminated its lease agreement with mad cow theater (Facebook | Website) on an unpaid debt owed for their space in the Church Street Market building in 54 Church Street West [GMap] but at the time of this article, the theater was still operating on-site, with programming scheduled until July 24, 2022.

The theater has been subletting its theater since 2011, when it entered into an agreement with the City, which paid $480,000 to build the space for their use, with a commitment to repay the funds with interest of 5% in four additional installments. Since then, they have only paid a portion of what was owed and there remains an outstanding balance of $426,592.74.

Mad Cow also failed to pay an allegedly agreed-upon monthly fee associated with the use of the space which paid for security services and a common area maintenance fee of $2,029.04. In total, they owed approximately $121,742.40 in unpaid monthly fees at the time they were notified of the termination of their lease.

Mad Cow has since disputed that she owed the payments under her funding agreement and refused to leave the theater. Since receiving a lease termination letter last year, they have negotiated a settlement agreement in which they agree to vacate and relinquish possession of the premises no later than May 31, 2022, in exchange for the city of Orlando and ARC to forgive the debt owed under the original contract, including maintenance costs. Mad Cow will have to leave certain assets and equipment behind so that it can continue to operate as a performing arts space under a new operator – probably Orlando Fringe.

If Mad Cow fails to vacate the premises by May 31, 2022, the City Prosecutor’s Office will be authorized to sue for eviction and recovery of monies owed.

You can see the full forbearance settlement agreement below.