Legal Fight Will Continue Over Greenwoods Theatre


NORFOLK — Despite ongoing protests from the embattled owner — or former owner, depending on whom one asks — the town went ahead as planned and sold the Greenwoods Theatre Saturday, Feb. 3, in a foreclosure auction.

After the town opened the bidding at $140,000, the amount allegedly owed in taxes, Dan Hincks, a businessman from Burlington, Conn., walked away with the winning bid of $240,000.

Assuming the sale holds up, that’s a steal. The theater, appraised at roughly $500,000, may actually be worth much more. Maura Cavanagh, who continues to defy authorities in her fight to keep her beloved theater, said she has put some $900,000 into the building since she bought it in 1998, and places its value somewhere around $1.5 million.

Hincks plans to use the theater as the main venue for his Infinity Music and Entertainment organization, formed in June 2006. He said the theater will be used principally for music, in a wide variety of genres, "from classical to folk to jazz, country."

He and General Manager Sue Tomkus are also considering bringing in comedy acts, poetry and programs for kids.

"I’ve been surrounded by music my whole life," Hincks said. His older brother, Rob Hincks, is an accomplished singer/songwriter. His mother, who served on the board of the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford, frequently received visits from musicians.

"We had a lot of classical artists, musicians around our house when I was growing up," said Hincks, who plays guitar and piano. "We are very much looking forward to becoming a part of the Norfolk community."

But it’s uncertain whether Hincks will ever take possession of the building he bought last weekend: Cavanagh is still embroiled in a fierce legal battle over her unpaid taxes, and claims the town and the courts trampled her constitutional right to due process.

"This is deceit and chicanery," Cavanagh said, calling any appraisals "entirely fictional," since, she said, appraisers had failed to make appointments to view the premises.

"None of these people have ever set foot in this building. They don’t even know how many rooms it has," she said.

The condition of the theater is a matter of some mystery. Neither Hincks nor town officials have been able to get inside the building to ascertain its current condition, and Cavanagh has no intention of letting them do so.

Cavanagh said the town assessed the building, sight-unseen, in "A-plus excellent condition" shortly after she bought it for $50,000 in 1998.

But the building, she said, was in serious disrepair. She has since been fighting a legal battle over what she terms "unfair tax assessments" and, meanwhile, has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into crucial repairs for the theater.

Cavanagh is due to continue her case in bankruptcy court Feb. 21.

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