BEVERLY — A Rhode Island theater owner plans to buy the defunct North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly and reopen for performances by spring.
William Hanney said he has signed a purchase and sales agreement with Citizens Bank to buy the property and expects to close the deal soon. Citizens bought the theater at auction last month for $3.6 million.
The 54-year-old facility went out of business in June under $10 million in debt. The property, including 26 acres and three buildings, is assessed at $12 million.
The city has scheduled a hearing for Dec. 10 on a request by Hanney to continue to operate the property as a theater.
A spokeswoman for the bank confirmed that the property is under agreement. The city's Zoning Board of Appeals has scheduled a public hearing for Dec. 10 on a request by Hanney to continue to operate the property as a theater.
Hanney owns Theatre by the Sea in Matunuck, R.I., as well as Entertainment Cinemas, a chain of 10 movie theaters in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut. He said he is confident he can return musical theater to the Dunham Road location by running a leaner operation than North Shore Music Theatre, which went out of business in June due to financial problems and was taken over by Citizens Bank.
"There's got to be major changes or else we'd end up the same way they did," Hanney said. "They were very top-heavy. They had about 60 people working there. We do very well at Theatre by the Sea, and we do it with a lot less than 60 people."
Hanney attended the foreclosure auction at North Shore Music Theatre last month but did not make a bid. He has been negotiating with Citizens Bank on a deal to buy the property and reached an agreement last month, he said.
Hanney said the theater, which was rebuilt after a fire in 2005, is in "magnificent" shape.
"I've never seen anything like it," he said. "They spent a lot of money there. They really have a top-notch facility."
North Shore Music Theatre, which opened in 1955, has 1,580 seats. It had 4,400 subscribers when it closed.
Hanney and his brother, Brian, also bought the former Ipswich courthouse in 2005 and planned to turn it into a movie theater. The project never materialized, and they ended up selling the building last year.
