The Weber County Heritage Foundation is the new owner of the Egyptian Theatre.
Closing on the old movie palace was set for Friday afternoon with a $100,000 down payment. The foundation purchased the building for $250,000 from Dr. Ray Broadbent, a Salt Lake plastic surgeon.A second $100,000 payment is scheduled for June 2. The foundation hopes a loan from the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington D.C. will come through later this month to meet that payment.
But if the National Trust does not make the loan, the Ogden City Council will loan the foundation the needed $100,000.
The council agreed Thursday night to set aside $100,000 to meet the second payment, if necessary. The city got the money from a $200,000 line of credit from the Ogden Industrial Development Corp.
Meanwhile, Friends of the Egyptian Theatre are gearing up for fund-raising events to help raise money for renovation.
The Friends have scheduled a 5K run for May 25. The run will begin in front of the theater and wind its way through downtown Ogden and back to the Egyptian.
Broadbent has been trying to sell the theater for almost three years. He was planning to demolish the building until the city came to the rescue. The council initially loaned the Heritage Foundation $30,000 to meet the down payment.