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No takers for North Adams' Mohawk Theater

Jul 28, 2022 12:10 am

Greta Jochem is reporting for The Berkshire Eagle the city of North Adams, Mass., has been looking for a buyer for the historic Mohawk Theater all summer, but no one submitted a bid to redevelop the long-empty venue by the July 26 deadline, according to Mike Nuvallie, director of the city’s Office of Community Development. The theater originally opened in 1938 and closed in 1991. “While it’s a little discouraging, it’s not the end of the road for the Mohawk Theater,” Mayor Jennifer Macksey said at a city council meeting this week. The city got a “slew of questions” after tours of the building, Macksey said. “We’re to regroup and we’re a little disappointed, but we’re going to take pulses on all the people that did tours and try to figure out why there were no applications.” Last year, the building was almost sold to a developer who proposed an event and performance space. However, Macksey turned down the plan, saying more community input was needed. Plus, she discovered the city still owed about $52,000 on an existing loan on the building. The mayor solicited more public comment in early 2022, and in June the city put out a call to redevelop the building. “We might have out-priced ourselves,” Macksey said. “But again, I’m not going to give that building away.” The required minimum bid was $100,000. Read the full story in The Berkshire Eagle.