After 16 months of working with a growing number of community supporters and partners The Dumas Hotel Legacy, Inc. has signed a fully executed contract with Total Action for Progress, Inc. for the purchase of the historic Dumas Hotel on Henry Street in downtown.
The agreement represents a concerted effort on the part of the DHL, Inc. to create and grow a community-wide campaign to secure community ownership of the Dumas that was once the centerpiece property of Henry Street and a bigger Black business district which had over 270 businesses producing over 7100 permanent jobs yearly.
The Dumas was also host to major community social and cultural events. The Hotel during segregation hosted important guests that ranged from WWII soldiers who could not stay in white owned hotels to jazz and other music royalty such as Fats Domino, Duke Ellington, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson and many others.
Due to a confidentiality agreement regarding the details of the contract, the pending owners (DHL, Inc.) are unable to discuss contract particulars until after the completion of the sale. The DHL did say they are committed to “…keeping the rich history of the Dumas alive so that the community will enjoy its presence for years to come”.
With an executed contract in hand the DHL is moving forward with the following priorities:
- Hosting a Community mtg to solicit even broader participation and support 8/13, 6p at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church (5th & Gilmer Avenue NW)
- Fulfilling the agreed upon purchase terms of the contract with TAP
- Completing negotiations with four lending institutions for purchase financing
- Ramping up an ambitious Fundraising Campaign ($500,000.00 ) for down payment funds and operational costs for first years of ownership. Initial Goal is by January 2019
- Recruiting community, corporate and public partners to work to make the Dumas a regional space for Arts, Technology and Culture
The group also said they will be making “some major announcements” over the next month regarding local, regional and national partners it is currently talking with to finalize their relationships. According to a press release, “These partnerships will help DHL, Inc. to launch the Dumas property into a future of significant impact and opportunity.”
The release concluded with the following statement: “The DHL, Inc. Board of Directors, and the Dumas Community Steering Committee as well as the growing number of supporters are committed to the Dumas being a space that brings people and cultures and races together for maximum economic, educational, social and cultural outcomes. It will be above all things, a place of reconciliation.”