YORK After more than a decade of music, movies and shows, the owner of York’s downtown Sylvia Theater is looking for a tenant or a buyer to take over management of the historic property.

Paul Finnican, who bought the more than 100-year-old building in 2001 and undertook two major renovations, said he is talking with two different groups that have an interest in leasing and managing the property.

“We’re looking for a tenant with a new management team and we’re looking to be a very generous landlord, very open to whatever we could do to help,” Finnican said. He said he’d also be open to selling the property, “but leasing is where we’re getting the most amount of interest.”

Finnican said the part-time staff of four has been eliminated and that the children’s movies shown on weekends have been discontinued for now. However, he said, three music shows are scheduled in January and February and the property is still available to rent for parties and special events.

“It will stay open part time until we get the new management team in place,” Finnican said in response to questions about whether the theater has closed.

He declined to identify prospective tenants, but he said a new arrangement may be in place by the end of March.

“I think the community wants it to remain a movie theater,” said Finnican, a Charlotte-area songwriter who works as a small-business loan originator.

Among the challenges facing the Sylvia were changes in the movie industry, including the move from film projectors to digital projectors. Finnican said that beginning in 2014, all movie theaters will need digital projectors, an upgrade he estimated would cost $35,000 to $60,000.

In early 2011, the theater was renovated with 140 new cushioned seats with cup holders, concrete floors and walk lighting, stage lighting and a Dolby sound system.

The Sylvia opened in 1937 as a one-screen movie house and operated as an entertainment venue until 1968. In the years that followed, the building went through a series of changes, serving as a hotel, a storage building and as a teacher’s supply shop.

Finnican, who lives in Charlotte, came to York to close on a business loan deal during 2001; he fell in love with the building and decided to buy it. With his own background in construction, Finnican said he was able to save money by doing much of the theater renovation work himself.

But Finnican said he and his wife, Stephanie, live an hour away, and they don’t have enough time to devote to the theater.

Finnican said three live shows are planned at the Sylvia in the coming weeks. They are Edwin McCain on Jan 25, Jeff Black on Jan. 26, and James Gregory on Feb. 27.

He also said Life Way Church is continuing to lease the theater for its 10 a.m. service on Sunday.