Tacoma Armory gets its second act after board files for voluntary receivership
The future of local arts nonprofit Tacoma Arts Live is looking brighter after its board relinquished managerial rights to a receiver with experience aiding businesses in financial distress.
The organization previously announced in January it would close this summer after 47 years, citing insurmountable debt and declining ticket sales.
But on March 13, court records show the TAL board filed for voluntary receivership, a process where a neutral party takes control of all of its assets, liquidating and distributing funds to creditors as deemed necessary.
The board chose Shelly Crocker, a former commercial bankruptcy lawyer experienced in finding creative solutions for companies and nonprofits in financial distress.
Crocker was chosen partially for her experience steering the Bellevue Arts Museum into a new era as receiver after it filed for bankruptcy in 2024. Under her guidance, the museum restructured into a smaller nonprofit focused on the Bellevue Arts Fair.
For Tacoma Arts Live, Crocker’s responsibilities are twofold, she says. One is to find a way to use its assets to repay the debt owed to creditors. Since this case involves a nonprofit, her other responsibility is to steward public trust to the best of her ability, she said.
“My approach is very much to learn and listen based on the community that I’m in and the company that I’m working with,” Crocker said. “It’s not like I came with a program or a self-imposed idea of what should happen. I really work hard at keeping an open mind.”
Tacoma Arts Live owes over $3,000,000 in debt secured by The Armory, according to court records.
With the end of its final performing arts season just under eight weeks away, it’s all hands on deck until June 30.
In addition to these last performances, TAL is using “every last dime” of its funding from Patty Murray to host events for the small business program Accelerating Creative Enterprise before it’s set to expire.
Although the staffing has remained the same since the announcement, Crocker says it’s unlikely the organization can keep all the employees throughout the transition.
As for The Armory’s future plans, it’s too early in the process to know exactly how it will unfold. But Crocker and her team have ideas.
One is continuing the building’s role as an event venue for other organizations and productions with a tiered pricing structure.
“If it’s a Hilltop nonprofit arts organization, they’re going to get a much more favorable rate than if Google wants to have its employee party in there,” she said.
They plan to continue its education programs, as well as The Armory’s most popular events, including Skate the Armory, Grit City Wrestling and The Black Night Market.
“Right now we’re in a process that feels like there’s a lot of possibility that we might be able to save this thing and rehabilitate it,” Crocker said. “We are not gone.”
Former TAL board chair Lisa Kremer told The News Tribune in an email that she has “high hopes” for Crocker.
“She might find a way to keep TAL alive and owning the Armory, and if not, I’m confident she’ll work to keep it in nonprofit or government hands,” Kremer wrote. “And I think she’ll keep TAL alive as well.”
