Trustee pushes August Wilson Center sale
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A court appointed trustee is moving ahead with plans to sell the bankrupt August Wilson Center for African American Culture to a New York developer that wants to put a hotel on top of the downtown Pittsburgh building.
A proposed order filed Friday asked a judge to approve the $9.5 million purchase agreement with 980 Liberty Partners. The developer would have 60 days to study whether a 200-room hotel is feasible.
Attorney General Kathleen Kane filed papers objecting to the scope of the proposed order, since the center was built using significant public funding.
The center is named in honor of the late Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. It opened in 2009 and hosted jazz concerts, dance, films and other cultural events, but was hampered by construction costs and poor attendance.