Previously in danger of foreclosure, the National Black Theater on 125th Street and Fifth Avenue in Harlem has resolved its financial disputes, the New York Times reported. Help came from Baltoro Capital Management, which recently took over the 64,000-square-foot building, located at 2031 Fifth Avenue, that houses the theater and other tenants, and relieved the theater’s debt of over $10 million.
In addition, Baltoro will keep the theater inside the building rent-free, even if the building gets sold down the line. However, the Times wrote, more details of the partnership between Baltoro and the theater are in the works and neither side would specify exactly how long the theater would be rent-free.
According to city public records, Baltoro purchased the building from an LLC named Nubian Realty in April for $10.4 million.
The theater hosts shows and workshops aimed at fostering respect for African ancestry and African-American self-expression.
The 125th Street strip has seen a lot of retail activity of late, with three new tenants signing on for a 100,000-square-foot retail development slated to be complete by the end of the year near Fredrick Douglass Boulevard, and Burlington Coat factory committing to Jeff Sutton’s planned retail development on Lenox Avenue. [NYT]