In a last-minute deal, the Nashville company that planned to demolish the building that houses RCA's historic Studio A sold the property to a non-profit organization devoted to preservation.

Bravo Development purchased the building, which has been the home to many landmark recordings from some of country's top artists, in July for $4.075 million dollars, and after an assessment of the building, announced it could not be saved. The tenants received an eviction notice in September, and Bravo announced plans to proceed with demolition if nobody with an eye toward preservation made an offer on the property by Sept. 30.

In a deal announced Friday (Oct. 3), Bravo has finalized a contract to sell the building to AMT Trust LLC for $5.6 million.

“From the beginning I invited offers from those who have alternate plans for the building,” said Bravo Development head Tim Reynolds. “We have worked diligently to find an appropriate buyer, and received multiple offers in the final hours before the deadline including some from developers who did not intend to save the building. In light of public concern, we ultimately decided to select the buyer that plans to preserve the building, and hopefully open it to the public.”

Aubrey Preston is the founder of AMT Trust. The New York Times reports the Tennesse-based preservationist and developer is part of the Americana Music Triangle project, which “seeks to promote music tourism and tie together the story of roots music as it emerged in Nashville, New Orleans, Memphis and the surrounding areas.”

A new independent report issued last week by the Save Studio A campaign found that, despite Bravo's claims about the state of the building, it would cost less than $375,000 to make the necessary updates.

“I felt like I had to get it under contract or else we weren’t going to be able to save it,” Preston tells the Times. “The most important thing about this was that we just needed to get it in a safe harbor, and then we can decide what to do with it.”

According to a press release, AMT Trust hopes to find "a preservation-minded owner" for the property.

Musician and producer Ben Folds has rented Studio A for the past 12 years, and has been very vocal about the need to preserve the building. He posted the following to Facebook in the wake of Friday's announcement:

I'm encouraged about the news of the impending sale of the historic RCA building to my friend who is a proven preservation leader I greatly respect. I look forward to discussing with him what the future holds for the studio space once the deal closes.

 

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