CAFESJIAN’S MUSEUM DREAM LANDS IN FEDERAL COURT
By Dan Browning, Star Tribune
Star Tribune, Minnesota
June 22 2007
The rescuer of the carousel that bears his name has wanted to build
an Armenian Genocide Museum in Washington, D.C.
Gerard Cafesjian’s ambitious plan to develop an Armenian Genocide
Museum and Memorial just blocks from the White House is at an impasse,
according to a federal lawsuit pending in Minneapolis.
Cafesjian, a retired West Publishing executive, is a major benefactor
of the project and has been working for more than seven years with the
Armenian Assembly of America to build the museum in the old National
Bank of Washington building.
The Armenian genocide took place between 1915 and 1918, when the
Ottoman Empire ordered Armenians into exile in Syria and Iraq. The
Armenian National Institute in Washington says up to 1.5 million
died in the purge. The Turkish government, which succeeded Ottomans,
puts the figure at 300,000 to 600,000.
Cafesjian, who now lives in Naples, Fla., could not be reached for
comment. He is best known in Minnesota as an art aficionado and as
the primary benefactor who helped preserve the historic State Fair
carousel that now bears his name in Como Park.
Biographical material on one of Cafesjian’s foundation websites says
the Armenian genocide had a profound effect on him. His father lost
his parents and siblings in the genocide, and his mother had already
been twice widowed when she married his father.
He hired New Jersey architect Edgar Papazian to design an elaborate
memorial that attaches to the existing bank building. But the other
members of the museum board balked, fearing it would be too difficult
to get permits.
"It was a very daring design, I have to admit," Papazian said in a
recent interview. But he insists that it’s buildable. Papazian said
he hasn’t heard anything about the project in about a year, when he
was told that Cafesjian was looking to get out of it.
End of ‘grandiose’ plans
The Armenian Assembly says in its court filings that it asked
Cafesjian to stay on and pursue his vision of the project. But it
says that Cafesjian failed to deliver on his "grandiose" plans and
now wants to recoup four lots around the bank building, which he and
his Cafesjian Family Foundation bought for more than $12.85 million
and donated for the project.
Robert Kaloosdian, a Massachusetts lawyer and founding member of the
Armenian Assembly of America, says in a sworn statement that the idea
of the genocide museum began in the 1990s. In 1997, Kaloosdian and
others sought Cafesjian’s help.
Cafesjian agreed to work with the group and the bank site was found
in 2000, Kaloosdian says. Cafesjian and his foundation contributed $4
million as a grant to help buy the site, on top of $1 million that had
already been contributed by the Cafesjian Family Foundation Charitable
Trust. As part of the grant agreement, the Armenian Assembly signed
a promissory note for $500,000, which was needed to close the deal.
‘This isn’t going to work out’
Cafesjian filed suit April 26 in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis
demanding that the note be paid. He also seeks to be reimbursed for
all donations. His attorney, Timothy Thornton of Minneapolis, said
that means he wants the four lots back, together with his interest
in the bank building.
"The only one who’s put any real money into this is Cafesjian,"
Thornton said. "These people have sat back and sniped and carped
and did everything they could to prevent this from going forward,"
he said. "And having failed to perform their end of the bargain,
it’s just apparent that this isn’t going to work out."
Arnold Rosenfeld, a Boston lawyer representing the Armenian Assembly,
said it was always understood that Cafesjian would forgive the
$500,000 note. "The big problem is that Mr. Cafesjian does not want
to continue with this. Until that’s resolved, it’s unclear right now
how and when we’re going to be able to proceed to build the museum,"
Rosenfeld said. "I think what may happen is the whole project may be
downsized … to just be the old National Bank Building."
Rosenfeld said the lots surrounding the bank may be worth $18 million
to $20 million now. Cafesjian could have whatever he donated back,
Rosenfeld said, but the appreciated value of the real estate should
go to the genocide museum.
Rosenfeld is scheduled to argue Aug. 23 that the case should be
dismissed from federal court in Minnesota on jurisdictional grounds.
He wants to arbitrate the matter in Washington.
But Thornton says Minnesota is the proper venue because the promissory
note says that any dispute would be resolved here.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
