The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities has selected a new operator for Lincoln Theatre, but the commission has yet to announce who that operator is, the Washington Business Journal reports.

DCCAH Executive Director Lionell Thomas says that D.C.’s Department of General Services is overseeing the offer letter and lease agreement for the new operator. When those negotiations are complete, the operator’s name will be released.

Since the District took over the ailing, city-owned theater at the beginning of 2012, DCCAH has been its temporary caretaker, responsible for running the venue while searching for a new manager. Throughout the transition period, Lincoln has remained fairly quiet, as it has for (too many) years. The commission’s goal is to find a qualified operator who will restore life to the theater while maintaining a sense of its history on Black Broadway.

Blues Alley owner Harry Schnipper has previously expressed interest in taking over the Lincoln Theatre, but Schnipper tells Washington City Paper he dropped his bid for the theater in January.

Photo by Flickr user Steve Snodgrass used under a creative commons license.