Roanoke Rapids land developer Michael Dunlow confirmed this afternoon that he and Chicago businessman Lafayette Gatling are negotiating a deal for Gatling to buy land around the Roanoke Rapids Theatre.

Dunlow declined to go into specifics but said he and Gatling have been going back and forth on the details for quite some time. “I would say Mr. Gatling is very serious and it's a go,” the developer said of Gatling's plan to not only buy the theater but land surrounding it. “He's got a bigger picture than just the theater. He wants to make sure everything is right.”

The confirmation today may explain why city officials remain confident Gatling intends to buy the theater.

City officials see the agreement as way to get out of the strangling debt the theater has caused and ease the burdens it may create in the upcoming fiscal year.