Hayes Center takes last bow
by Anna Oakes
Despite two and a half years of negotiations, the Blowing Rock Community Arts Center Foundation ultimately could not come up with the money needed to save the Hayes Performing Arts Center.
Now, the curtains will close for good as the center faces foreclosure by lienholder Wells Fargo.
Outstanding debt on the mortgage is approximately $4.5 million, foundation Board of Trustees Member Lee Layton said.
“It's with great sadness that, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, we must announce the closing of the Blowing Rock Cultural Arts Center effective immediately,” said Ron Bryson, chairman of Blowing Rock Community Arts Center Foundation Board of Trustees, in a Feb. 10 press release.
The Hayes Center was open for only about four years. The facility opened in 2006 but suspended operations three years later in 2009, when a repositioning team formed to restructure the organization. The center reopened for the 2011 season.
Another board member, who did not wish to be named, said the board negotiated with a number of potential buyers who expressed interest in buying the theater property and leasing it back to the Hayes Center board. But the board was unable to solidify an agreement because of the ongoing economic uncertainty and because of complications related to a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development division.
In 2006, the USDA, a federal agency, agreed to guarantee 80 percent — or $6.2 million — of the loan for the Hayes Center, financed by Wachovia Bank (now Wells Fargo). “So the bank is protected from 80 percent of the loss,” Layton said.
“The USDA is dragging their feet, as you can imagine,” the other board member said. Wells Fargo could proceed with a foreclosure sale as soon as next week, the board member said.
“We are moving through the process and will keep all options open,” said Jason Triplett, market president for Wells Fargo. “We've worked with the board of the Blowing Rock Community Arts Center for more than three years in good faith.”
The Blowing Rock Community Arts Center Foundation formed in 2000 to create a regional arts center, which would serve as a home for the Blowing Rock Stage Company, founded in 1986. The Mariam & Robert Hayes Performing Arts Center broke ground in July 2005 and opened in August 2006, featuring a 348-seat auditorium.
Speaking in 2009, Bryson said the center cost $9.6 million to build. In May 2008, then-Hayes Center Executive Director Jeff Clark told the Blowing Rock Town Council that $10.3 million from 650 donors had been raised for the center to date, according to meeting minutes. It is not clear how much of that amount included pledges that were never collected.
“We had what we thought were gifts that we could count on that didn't materialize,” Bryson said in 2009.
The Hayes Center suspended operations in September 2009, citing a “difficult economic environment.” It was then that a repositioning team formed, working with an arts consultant to examine issues such as operations, staffing, donors, partnerships and debt. Mortgage payments were suspended in 2009, Layton said, and any revenues since then went to pay outstanding debts to vendors and other creditors.
“Everyone wanted the center to succeed,” Bryson said in the release. “But we also knew if we had to close, we wanted to do it in a way that would lessen the impact on the local economy.”
The Hayes Center reopened in spring 2011, presenting a slate of concerts, comedy shows and dance performances from June to October. Gone from the production schedule was the Blowing Rock Stage Company and its unionized actors and stage managers.
Usually the board is dissolved when nonprofits cease operations, the board member said, and the Board of Trustees is currently discussing options with its attorney. The Hayes Center still owns the Blowing Rock Stage Company name.
Will taxpayers get stuck with the Hayes Center losses? That remains unclear as of press time. Wells Fargo would not go into detail about how the USDA guarantee could affect foreclosure proceedings.
“No. That really doesn't have an impact on the foreclosure,” Triplett said.
In a 2011 article published by legal news website JD Supra, attorney Kassandra McQuillen described what happened to clients whose home, which was abandoned to foreclosure, had been guaranteed by the USDA Rural Home Loan Program.
In that case, the balance at the time of foreclosure was $160,000, McQuillen wrote. Wells Fargo sold the home at a trustee's sale for $65,000 and submitted a loss claim to the USDA for $112,000, receiving a reimbursement of $103,000. To their surprise, McQuillen's clients then received a bill from the USDA for more than $100,000.
Bryson was said to be vacationing on the West Coast and unavailable as of press time. In the release, he stated, “We wish to thank the hundreds of donors and supporters who, over more than a decade, gave of their time, talents and financial resources to make the vision a reality for a performing arts center in Blowing Rock.”
The Hayes Center: A Short-Lived Dream
1986 Blowing Rock Stage Company founded
December 2000 Blowing Rock Community Arts Center Foundation formed to create regional arts center
July 2005Construction begins
August 2006Hayes Center opens
September 2009Hayes Center suspends operations
2011Center reopens
February 2012Trustees announce Hayes Center closing
Now, the curtains will close for good as the center faces foreclosure by lienholder Wells Fargo.
Outstanding debt on the mortgage is approximately $4.5 million, foundation Board of Trustees Member Lee Layton said.
“It's with great sadness that, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, we must announce the closing of the Blowing Rock Cultural Arts Center effective immediately,” said Ron Bryson, chairman of Blowing Rock Community Arts Center Foundation Board of Trustees, in a Feb. 10 press release.
The Hayes Center was open for only about four years. The facility opened in 2006 but suspended operations three years later in 2009, when a repositioning team formed to restructure the organization. The center reopened for the 2011 season.
Another board member, who did not wish to be named, said the board negotiated with a number of potential buyers who expressed interest in buying the theater property and leasing it back to the Hayes Center board. But the board was unable to solidify an agreement because of the ongoing economic uncertainty and because of complications related to a loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development division.
In 2006, the USDA, a federal agency, agreed to guarantee 80 percent — or $6.2 million — of the loan for the Hayes Center, financed by Wachovia Bank (now Wells Fargo). “So the bank is protected from 80 percent of the loss,” Layton said.
“The USDA is dragging their feet, as you can imagine,” the other board member said. Wells Fargo could proceed with a foreclosure sale as soon as next week, the board member said.
“We are moving through the process and will keep all options open,” said Jason Triplett, market president for Wells Fargo. “We've worked with the board of the Blowing Rock Community Arts Center for more than three years in good faith.”
The Blowing Rock Community Arts Center Foundation formed in 2000 to create a regional arts center, which would serve as a home for the Blowing Rock Stage Company, founded in 1986. The Mariam & Robert Hayes Performing Arts Center broke ground in July 2005 and opened in August 2006, featuring a 348-seat auditorium.
Speaking in 2009, Bryson said the center cost $9.6 million to build. In May 2008, then-Hayes Center Executive Director Jeff Clark told the Blowing Rock Town Council that $10.3 million from 650 donors had been raised for the center to date, according to meeting minutes. It is not clear how much of that amount included pledges that were never collected.
“We had what we thought were gifts that we could count on that didn't materialize,” Bryson said in 2009.
The Hayes Center suspended operations in September 2009, citing a “difficult economic environment.” It was then that a repositioning team formed, working with an arts consultant to examine issues such as operations, staffing, donors, partnerships and debt. Mortgage payments were suspended in 2009, Layton said, and any revenues since then went to pay outstanding debts to vendors and other creditors.
“Everyone wanted the center to succeed,” Bryson said in the release. “But we also knew if we had to close, we wanted to do it in a way that would lessen the impact on the local economy.”
The Hayes Center reopened in spring 2011, presenting a slate of concerts, comedy shows and dance performances from June to October. Gone from the production schedule was the Blowing Rock Stage Company and its unionized actors and stage managers.
Usually the board is dissolved when nonprofits cease operations, the board member said, and the Board of Trustees is currently discussing options with its attorney. The Hayes Center still owns the Blowing Rock Stage Company name.
Will taxpayers get stuck with the Hayes Center losses? That remains unclear as of press time. Wells Fargo would not go into detail about how the USDA guarantee could affect foreclosure proceedings.
“No. That really doesn't have an impact on the foreclosure,” Triplett said.
In a 2011 article published by legal news website JD Supra, attorney Kassandra McQuillen described what happened to clients whose home, which was abandoned to foreclosure, had been guaranteed by the USDA Rural Home Loan Program.
In that case, the balance at the time of foreclosure was $160,000, McQuillen wrote. Wells Fargo sold the home at a trustee's sale for $65,000 and submitted a loss claim to the USDA for $112,000, receiving a reimbursement of $103,000. To their surprise, McQuillen's clients then received a bill from the USDA for more than $100,000.
Bryson was said to be vacationing on the West Coast and unavailable as of press time. In the release, he stated, “We wish to thank the hundreds of donors and supporters who, over more than a decade, gave of their time, talents and financial resources to make the vision a reality for a performing arts center in Blowing Rock.”
The Hayes Center: A Short-Lived Dream
1986 Blowing Rock Stage Company founded
December 2000 Blowing Rock Community Arts Center Foundation formed to create regional arts center
July 2005Construction begins
August 2006Hayes Center opens
September 2009Hayes Center suspends operations
2011Center reopens
February 2012Trustees announce Hayes Center closing