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Project Description
While Finlay owns the Cheatham Street Warehouse business, he has never owned the building that it occupies. For many years, every time Finlay had approached the owners (the late Curtis Jenkins and G. W. Gilbert) about a sale, they had replied that they were not yet ready to sell, but that he would have the first option to buy the property, should their intentions change. In 2005, one of the owners became seriously ill, forcing a quick sale that caught Finlay by surprise. Upon learning that Jenkins and Gilbert had received a purchase offer and that the prospective buyer was planning to demolish the Warehouse in order to build a retail shopping center, Finlay rallied friends to help him save Cheatham Street Warehouse. Finlay formed the non-profit Cheatham Street Music Foundation, while Dr. Gregg Andrews and his wife were able to match the other purchase offer and save the property.
Andrews, a San Marcos musician, professor of history at Texas State University, and member of the CSMF board of directors, made the purchase with the understanding that CSMF would buy the property as soon as funds could be raised. For the two years since its founding, the fledgling organization has been raising money for that purpose. Andrews’ situation, however, has recently changed, greatly reducing the time available for CSMF to raise the rest of the funds needed to purchase the Warehouse. In April 2008, Andrews’ mother passed away unexpectedly, and he is going to purchase her home in Missouri in order to keep it in the family, as it has been for generations. Andrews will retire from Texas State and move to Missouri in June 2009, so CSMF must have completed the purchase of the Warehouse property by then.
If CSMF fails to raise these funds in time, Andrews will be forced to look for another buyer. Both Andrews and Finlay are concerned that the sale of the property to an outside party would put the historic Warehouse building at risk once more. Its location, lot size, and current commercial zoning make the property attractive for redevelopment. In order to protect and preserve Cheatham Street Warehouse for the future, CSMF must raise the money for its purchase now.
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