The notice was in the paper early last week: the sale of foreclosed upon property will occur on the Beaufort County Courthouse steps Jan. 15. But the address listed in the notice came as a surprise to many — especially the artists who have called Inner Banks Artisans’ Center their working home for the past several years.

The building housing the Inner Banks Artisans’ Center, at 158 W. Main St., in Washington, will be sold to the highest bidder at 11 a.m. Thursday in an upset bid process.

Bob Henkel, a former KFC executive who retired to Washington, bought the building in 2007, originally intending renovation, building condominiums. A tanking real estate market in 2008 made that a risky move, so Henkel opened the ground floor to potters, painters, photographers, jewelry makers and textile artists — etching out studio spaces where artists could both work and sell their work — and created another larger space that alternated at various points between a café, a classroom and a performance space, the Union Alley Coffeehouse. Known as the gathering place for Beaufort County Traditional Music Association members and guests, the site has hosted Thursday night and Saturday morning jams, as well as BCTMA’s open mic night and many musical acts from near and far.

But the Artisans’ Center has only ever broken even, according to Henkel, at the expense of his own assets.

“We really haven’t increased in our traffic over to the past five years enough to make it pay,” Henkel said. “Basically, it was going in the hole every year. … 2011 was the best year, and since then, it went down. This past year it went back up about 8 percent, but that wasn’t enough.”

Handing it over to foreclosure seemed to be the only option, as the outstanding money owed on the loan was too much to interest buyers, according to Henkel. But there may be options, he said.

“There’s been several interested parties taking a look at things,” Henkel said. “Hopefully, we get somebody that wants to keep (the Artisans’ Center).”

The news that the Artisans’ Center would be sold ricocheted throughout the arts community last week, leaving its tenants uncertain as to what happens next.

“I think it’s a shame because Bob is devoted to the downtown area. He was devoted to all the artists there. He went out of his way — he was a mover and shaker in that respect,” said painter Jeffrey Jakub.

Jakub leased space for his awarding-winner watercolors at the center and has taught watercolor classes to many aspiring artists there.

“My personal next move, I have no clue,” Jakub said. “Other than waiting it out and seeing what happens.”

Jakub said that the Artisans’ Center, along with the relatively new presence of the Beaufort County Arts Council in the Turnage Theater, was cementing downtown Washington’s reputation as an arts center. If a new buyer chooses to close the Artisans’ Center, that may come to an abrupt end.

“It would be a huge, huge gap — and not only in downtown, but in the arts community,” said Joey Toler, executive director of the Beaufort County Arts Council, about the potential closure. “I would hate to see it go away because we all support each other.”

Toler said there have been informal talks about the arts council absorbing some of the events previously held at the Artisans’ Center, should the new owner decide to use the property for another purpose.

“Hopefully whoever buys the building will want to continue because it does generate income,” Toler said. “I really hope nothing changes significantly.”

Henkel said the future of the Artisans’ Center hinges on what happens, and who buys the building, on Thursday, but to serve as incentive to keep the place open, Henkel has volunteered to continue to manage the Artisans’ Center for a full year after its sale.

“There’s a lot of ‘ifs.’ We won’t know until Thursday who’s interested,” Henkel said. “But the artists are standing by me and hoping it will remain as is.”

According to the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009, tenants with bona fide leases may continue occupation of the leased space until the end of the remaining term of the lease.