Curtain Closes on Struggle But Not on Theater
The Harlem building housing the storied National Black Theatre has been taken over by its debt holder in a deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure transaction.
But the art group’s long struggle to hold onto the property, on Fifth Avenue at 125th Street, hasn’t ended in tragedy. The theater, which was founded in 1968 by the late dancer and actress Barbara Ann Teer, will be able to remain in its home as part of the deal that it cut with Boltoro Capital Management, the building’s new landlord.
“The National Black Theatre will remain an important part of the property,” says Michael Kelley, the head of Boltoro, which held $10.4 million of debt on the 64,000-square-foot property.
Ms. Teer, who toured with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company and performed on Broadway, founded the National Black Theatre with a mission to preserve African cultural heritage and empower a new generation of black artists. It has become a major Harlem institution.
In its early years, the theater occupied a number of different locations. Ms. Teer found what she hoped would be its permanent home in the 1980s when she bought the property at 2023-2035 Fifth Ave., which had been damaged in a fire.
But the group has been plagued by financial pressures. In 2002, the founder of National Black Theatre, Barbara Ann Teer, struck a deal with Nubian Properties to jointly own and manage the theater’s building on Fifth Avenue at 125th Street. But that partnership ran into multiple disagreements as the building’s finances deteriorated.
A fund controlled by Boltoro acquired the debt on the property in 2011. A foreclosure auction, previously set for April 3, was rescheduled for May 8. The deed-in-lieu deal halted the foreclosure action.
Representatives of the theater couldn’t be reached for comment. There’s currently a Yoruba art exhibit on display there.
Among the upcoming events: a Mother’s Day celebration featuring a DJ, buffet and raffle, according to a flier.
Harlem Rep. Charles B. Rangel, who has been active in past efforts to save the property, wrote in an email that the institution is “a spiritual sanctuary of the African Diaspora experience.” He added that he was “extremely pleased that the National Black Theater was saved.”
—Alessia Pirolo