A revised bid has been accepted for the McKann Center in downtown Fredericksburg.
Battle Creek Construction submitted the highest bid of $1.4 million at the February 12, 2016, auction.
“Union Bank & Trust, which held the loan on the building, determined that the offer was too low but told the prospective purchaser that $1.6 million would be acceptable,” said Tom Wack, chairman of the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center (FAMCC) Board of Directors. Battle Creek’s principals Matt Calvin and Ryan Jenkins agreed to the terms over the weekend, and signed the contract Monday, Feb. 15. A closing is expected within 60 days.
“Though we are saddened to give up the beautiful Catherine W. Jones McKann Center, and we understand how profoundly that loss will be felt by museum supporters, we are relieved to be able to look toward the future without an unsustainable debt load weighing us down,” Wack said. FAMCC plans to consolidate into one building, and hopes to reopen in Fall 2016.
The purchaser will pay a 10 percent premium of $160,000 that will go to the auctioneer, Nicholls Auction Marketing Group, and the commercial real estate brokers who helped sell the property — Jamie Scully and Wilson Greenlaw Jr. of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, who represented the seller; and Carl Braun and Cameron Coleman of Coldwell Banker Commercial Elite, who represented the purchaser’s.
The purchaser’s total price tag will thus be $1.76 million. “The net proceeds from the sale will satisfy 100 percent of the debt that the museum carried on the McKann Center, according to Wack.
FAMCC, which recently hired Sara Poore as its new executive director, will now work on a restructuring plan that will involve a new strategy, new board members, fundraising efforts, and consolidation into Old Town Hall at 909 Princess Anne St. The City of Fredericksburg currently rents Old Town Hall to FAMCC for $1 a year.
More
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Fredericksburg Area Museum & Cultural Center Names New Executive Director
FAMCC to Auction the McKann Center
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