The City of Bruce topped four other bidders Monday at a public auction in Pittsboro to acquire the Cinema 22 building on the Bruce Square.
The bidding opened at $10,000 and ended with the city’s bid of $36,000.
“We paid more than I wanted to, but less than what the board was willing to commit,” Bruce Mayor Rudy Pope said. “I really didn’t want to pay that much, but that’s how the bidding goes.”
Fifteen people attended the public auction at the courthouse.
The property, owned by Bruce native Fred Thomas, was being auctioned as part of a child-support settlement. Sheriff Greg Pollan and attorney Jay Hurdle conducted the sale.
An additional $3,395 in back taxes is owed on the theater. A total of $5,735 was owed in back taxes on property on Duncan Hill Road which was purchased in the auction for $45,000 by Everett Glaspie of Bruce.
Mayor Pope and Bruce Alderwoman Ellen Shaw represented the the city in the auction.
“We feel like we will be able to do a lot with the theater,” Pope said. “We plan to host movies for the kids in the summer, plays, musicals. We have a lot of people volunteering to help us.”
“We feel like we can do something with it that will be good for Bruce,” Pope said. “We don’t want it to be an empty building sitting there deteriorating. We want something that will be used and enjoyed by the community.”
“I think it’s a great place for our kids to have somewhere to go,” Shaw said.
“It gives us a chance to provide opportunities for cultural arts for the community and a lot more. I think it will be great for people interested in performing arts and great for the square to help draw more people to town.”