North Texas Daily

Joshua Knopp / Senior Staff Writer

The Wright Opera House, a Denton icon that has been perched on the northeast corner of the Square for more than a century, is for sale with an asking price of $2,699,000.

Building owner Roy Freebourn said the sale should be complete within the next few weeks.

The sale will not affect Recycled Books, the popular used book store that has made the building famous, said store owner Don Foster.

“The building nearly sold in the spring,” Foster said. “Once that fell through, Roy, our landlord, didn’t want us to lose the building.”

Foster said Recycled Books then signed a 10-year “iron clad” lease to make sure they’d stay.

Freebourn regularly flips properties, and he owns land in multiple states. He said he has done multiple renovations on the Opera House, including its roof and its plumbing, but the time was right for him to sell.

Throughout his ownership, Freebourn has protected Recycled Books. He said he thinks he could have made three times as much if he renovated that part of the property, but he hasn’t.

“I really wanted to protect them,” he said. “It’s not all about money for me. I’m a Christian, and making money is good, but there’s more than that. We want what’s best for everyone.”

Real T agent Jonathan King, who is conducting the sale, said there is an interested party, but nothing is in the works yet.

“They have to talk some things through,” he said. “That would be the hope, that we can have things sewn up in the next 60 days, but nothing’s set in stone.”

Photo courtesy of Recycled Books