The Norfolk Hub (formerly the Norfolk Foundation), which has owned the Royal Arcanum building for the past three years, is entering into an agreement to sell it to American Folk & Heritage, LLC. A closing date has not been set.
American Folk & Heritage LLC (AF&H) is owned by Norfolk residents Emily Adams Bode Aujla, Aaron Aujla and Dev Aujla. An initiative founded in 2020, AF&H is dedicated to preserving American craft and handwork with a focus on America’s Northeast.
Through its partnership with Bode, Emily Aujila’s American luxury brand, AF&H has worked with such institutions as the American Folk Art Museum, Shaker Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
The Norfolk Hub has lease agreements with all the commercial tenants in the building as well as a master lease with the Foundation for Norfolk Living (FNL), which is responsible for renting the second-floor apartments. All second-floor tenants have been notified of a pending sale.
All commercial tenants’ leases will be honored under the current terms and, upon completion of the sale, the Norfolk Hub will allocate a portion of the sale proceeds to FNL to help with its continuing mission of providing affordable housing in the community. Tenants will be assisted in finding new living space.
FNL’s president, Kate Briggs Johnson, noted that its members appreciate the planned donation.
Norfolk Hub co-president Michael Selleck said the sale is good news, providing much-needed new cash for other capital projects in town.
AF&H is developing plans for the Arcanum. Its mission is to honor the building’s history, heritage and aesthetic, as well as to support the commercial activity of Norfolk’s downtown core.
The Royal Arcanum, a non-profit fraternal life insurer, was founded in Boston in 1877 to provide health insurance to its members. A group of Norfolk members hired architect Alfredo Taylor to design the impressive multi-purpose building in the town center, putting businesses on the first floor and meeting places for the Royal Arcanum Council and the Masonic Lodge on the third. It also once housed the town’s post office and fire department.