Nearly six months later, on September 17, 2018, Feder reported that the MBC's board of directors was close to finalizing a deal to sell the museum's third and fourth floors to Fern Hill, a real estate development and investment firm. "Sources said the agreement will net $6 million, to be used to continue operating the museum and paying down debt — especially a $3.7 million mortgage held by Pepper Construction Co.," Feder wrote. The deal closed on March 1, 2019, with executive director Julian Jackson telling Feder, "When we open the next phase of the permanent museum, we plan on providing a state-of-the-art experience to all of our guest "", while delivering brand value to our sponsors and supporters." That same week the "Chicago Tribune" reported that the MBC was "negotiating with Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to bring two special exhibitions here beginning in June," and that after the March 31 closing of ""Saturday Night Live": The Experience," which had been held over for three months, the museum's second floor was "expected to be closed for at least April and May" as the MBC reduced its exhibition and event space "from 25,000 square feet to 12,500." On March 18, 2019, Robert Feder reported that Julian Jackson had resigned as the MBC's executive director after one year, having told the board of directors that he'd "accepted a new position with Freeman Exhibit Solutions in Schiller Park."