Just days before Philadelphia's Historical Commission is
scheduled to decide the fate of the historic art deco Boyd Theater, an
anonymous donor has come forward and offered to purchase the theater on behalf
of a preservation-minded non-profit.
Howard B. Haas, who founded the Friends of the Boyd a decade
ago to save the ornate movie palace, said Friday that a charitable foundation
has provided a letter of intent stating its willingness to match the sales
price offered by a developer: $4.5 million. The letter was delivered this week
to the building's owner, Live Nation, and to the commission, but neither has
responded yet, Haas said.
The advocacy director at the Preservation Alliance, Ben
Leech, confirmed that the group had met with the donor, and that the offer was
solid. "Howard really pulled a rabbit out of the hat," he said.
Even so, it is not clear how the commission will view the
11th-hour offer. In late January, it began taking testimony on whether the
landmark building should be demolished on the grounds of financial hardship,
and the hearing is supposed to resume Feb. 27.
Live Nation, which has owned the Boyd since 2005, said it
had concluded that it was impossible to redevelop the theater in its current
form. It is asking for a declaration of financial hardship so it can sell the
building to Philadelphia developer Neil Rodin, who has teamed up with a Florida
movie company, iPic.
If the sale goes through, iPic would demolish the Boyd's
large, multi-colored, art deco auditorium and replace it with eight modern
screening rooms.
Source: Philly.com
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