The city is still trying to sell the venue through a listing agent and use of the auction website Ten-X is not a replacement for the initial listing, officials said.
“I discussed it with the commercial real estate company to help increase the odds of selling the theater as a business opportunity,” Scherer said this morning.
City Attorney Gilbert Chichester said the city manager had the authority to list the venue with the auction website and a vote by council was not needed.

The starting bid price, in which a $10,000 registration fee is required to join the auction, is $1.1 million.
“The $1.1 million is the minimum they would start bidding at,” Chichester said. “We do not have to accept any bid we’re not comfortable with. If there was a bid we were comfortable with we would have to go through an upset bid process, a 10-day period. At the end of day if there is a bid the city is comfortable with, we still have to put it up for the 10-day bid process.”
Both Chichester and Scherer declined to say how much the city would like to receive for the venue through a traditional sale or the bidding process. The city’s debt payment on the building is current, Scherer said.
Scherer said the city has no stipulations on the use of the venue should someone buy it and a recent spate of shows by a local promotion company will have no bearing on the potential sale.
Scherer sent an email to council members and two department heads on June 28 providing the URL of the theater on the Ten-X site.
According to the website, the auction starts on August 8 and ends August 10.

The link provides photos of the venue as well as a detailed description of the property.
It is described as a vacant performing arts theatre located at 500 Carolina Crossroads Parkway in Roanoke Rapids.
“The property includes one, two-story building totaling ±47,884 SF on ±8.82 AC with 542 parking spaces (11.32/1,000 SF). The building is a ±1,500 seat performing arts theatre and includes all furniture, fixtures, and equipment including a state of the art sound and lighting system.”

The description notes total property, construction, and equipment costs were more than $20,000,000 upon completed construction in 2006. “The building does not have a long-term tenant in-place and offers huge value-add through long term lease-up or operating of the Theatre.”
The description also touts the venue’s visibility from the interstate.”The average daily traffic count on Interstate 95 at Highway 125 exceeds ±38,500 vehicles per day. The property benefits from its position along Interstate 95 and being easily accessible from Richmond and Norfolk, Virginia, to Raleigh and Fayetteville, North Carolina.
“The immediate vicinity has commercial development opportunities around the Carolina Crossroads Music & Entertainment District. Other immediate vicinity land uses include hospitality, residential, retail, and agricultural. The investment offers value-add through lease-up or potential upside by increasing the frequency of scheduled performances.”