Vogue Cinema on course for tax sale in January, with nearly $70k in taxes owed
The Vogue Cinema is headed for tax sale this January, unless owner Jeff Coates can make good on nearly $70,000 in back taxes owed to the provincial government.
The provincial Finance and Treasury Board posted an Expression of Interest on the property at 9 Bridge Street in an attempt to contact Coates.
A tax certificate from the board shows that Coates’ numbered company owes $69,236.37 in unpaid taxes as of this month. The 2024 tax levy on the property was $7,509.79.
At tax sale, the bidding on the building will start with the amount owing to the province. The earliest the theatre could go up for sale would be January 2025. Before that, the property will continue to accrue taxes and fees, meaning the minimum bid could be closer to $78,000 by the time it goes up for sale.
But any liens on the property will be dissolved by the tax sale. That means that more than $65,000 in debt owed to the Canada Revenue Agency could disappear. The debt was registered against the property in 2022, and dates back to money owed as of 2017, according to registration documents available through Service New Brunswick.
Coates’ numbered company is also the subject of a bankruptcy filing by the Westmoreland Albert Community Business Development Corporation, who say Coates owes them about $76,000.
On June 4, the Court of King’s Bench ruled the company bankrupt, after a hearing where Coates did not appear.… Continue
Future of Vogue uncertain due to possible bankruptcy, but group still ‘working behind the scenes’
The for sale sign is down at The Vogue Cinema in Sackville.
The 78-year old theatre has been officially off the market for a few weeks, but not because a deal has been closed with a buyer. A real estate agent who formerly represented owner Jeff Coates confirmed the building is off the market, and said they were not authorized to give more details about the situation.
Coates, who ran the cinema for 17 years and worked there for a decade before that, refused to comment on the current status of the beloved cinema and venue.
The listing and sale of the building could have hit complications from an outstanding debt that was registered against the property in 2022, and a bankruptcy filing last month against Coates’ numbered company (059145 NB Ltd.), which owns the property and operated the cinema.
A search on Service New Brunswick’s Land Registry Services shows a $65,057.56 debt registered against the property at 9 Bridge Street, originally owed to the Canada Revenue Agency by Coates’ numbered company. The debt was registered against the property in December 2022, but dates back to five years before that, in December 2017.
The bankruptcy filing comes from another source, the Community Business Development Corporation (CBDC) Westmorland Albert, which provides financial and technical services to entrepreneurs and small businesses in the region. The filing from the CBDC says Coates’ company owes the organization $76,251.19, and asks that the numbered company which owns the Vogue be deemed bankrupt due to unmet liabilities.… Continue
The Vogue Cinema is closed, but owner Jeff Coates is hoping for a community takeover
Downtown Sackville has suffered plenty of slings and arrows in the past few years. Between fires, structural issues, repeated COVID shutdowns, and an ongoing and painfully slow COVID recovery, the downtown core is radically different today than it was back in 2019. And the slings and arrows are about to strike again.
The 77-year old Vogue Cinema is closed, and owner Jeff Coates says he will not be able to reopen the historic theatre, due to debts that have become too large to handle.
“I’ve been fighting and struggling and clawing to stay above water, to keep the place open and functioning,” Coates told CHMA this week. “I never wanted to lose it, but now we’re there. We’re closed, and the place is for sale.”
Coates is heartbroken, but is trying to be realistic after years of taking on increasing debt to keep the cinema technologically up to date, and the building sound.
That said, he’s also still hopeful that the Vogue might have a future, even if he’s not at the helm.
The Vogue is “more than movie theatre,” says Coates. “It’s a cultural centre where so many other things happen than just Hollywood movies. And I think that’s the direction the theatre needs to go.”
Between the Sackville Film Society, concerts by Sappyfest and other local promoters, and Sackville’s vibrant theatre scene, Coates thinks the Vogue’s future might be as a community-run arts space.… Continue