By Associated Press - Thursday, April 17, 2014

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Four buyers have submitted bids for the city’s debt-ridden August Wilson Center, a court-appointed receiver said Thursday.

The center honors the late Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, who grew up in Pittsburgh. A judge recently approved selling off the downtown building to settle a mortgage default and other debts totaling about $10 million.

Receiver Judith K. Fitzgerald said in a statement that she’s evaluating the bids for their ability to pay off debt and continue the mission of celebrating African-American arts and culture. She said two of the bids fall into the dining and entertainment category, one is from a group of local foundations and one is from a developer who wants to build commercial space on top of the existing building.

“Each of the proposals offers a unique solution to the problems of the Center,” Fitzgerald said, adding that the proposal from the developer could be “very attractive to the city, the county and the African-American community in Pittsburgh” because the proposed commercial addition could subsidize arts-related programing.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the unidentified developer offered $9.5 million in cash, far above the other bids.

Fitzgerald said she’ll meet with members of the African-American community and creditors to discuss the bids.

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