Museum foreclosure auction postponed

A foreclosure auction for the Evergreen Space Museum and Wings and Waves Waterpark has been postponed until January 25.

The delay was announced Monday at 10 a.m., when the auction was scheduled to take place. It is the second time the auction has been postponed to allow the parties more time to negotiate.

Both buildings are owned by the Michael King Smith Foundation, and leased to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum.

Foundation spokesman and board member Jay Goffman told the News-Register, “We are working with a new investor on a potential transaction that would pay off all the MKSF debt in full and position the museum complex for future success.”

He said that “the parties are working together to achieve a favorable outcome for all parties.”

The auction was requested by Hoffman Construction Company of Oregon, which built all of the buildings on the museum’s Highway 18 campus.

The company is seeking to recoup $1.9 million still owed on the construction by the Michael King Smith Foundation, owner of the land and buildings occupied by the space museum and waterpark.

The sale was originally scheduled for late November but was delayed to give the parties additional time to negotiate.

Ownership of the museum’s land and buildings was divided between the Evergreen Vintage Aircraft, which owned the air museum building and theater, along with some aircraft, and the Michael King Smith Foundation, which owns the space museum and waterpark. Last June, EVA sold the air museum building and theater to a private investor, who is leasing them to the museum on a long-term contract.