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A little more info from the DR about the theater project.
Quote:
The historic Greenville theater on Fifth Street downtown took another step toward redevelopment with approval by a city board for a Raleigh developer to take on the project.
The Greenville Redevelopment Commission unanimously approved a letter of intent, subject to approval by the City Council, to begin the partnership with Superblock and Dickinson Avenue property developer CommunitySmith for work on the Theater Uptown.
CommunitySmith will spend a minimum of $1 million in one year from when the permits are approved or March 2018.
The city and commission will contribute about $300,000 through a Brownfields cleanup subgrant, building stabilization work and parking lot improvements.
Several restrictions will be placed on the property, including that the developer will purchase it for $20,000, it would remain a live performance venue for at least 10 years, no sexually oriented businesses, and no first-release commercial film showings.
CommunitySmith Managing Partner Holton Wilkerson said the timeline for the theater is for the agreement to go before the council in March for final approval and, assuming the council approves it, design work will begin.
Permitting and design will take a few months, Wilkerson said. Construction could begin in early summer, with an expected construction timeline of about 12 months and potentially opening as early as 2017.
The theater will be able to accommodate 500 people standing, but seats also can be brought in for multiple, flexible uses.
The theater will have the same quality of redevelopment construction as the Superblock, Dickinson Avenue Public House and Trollingwood Taproom & Brewery, Wilkerson said.
The theater will include a small addition to the back of the building. It will be designed as a flexible performance theater capable of accommodating various sized crowds, music, events and public uses.
“We’re going to try to design as much flexibility into it as possible,” Wilkerson said.
The firm intends to preserve the building’s facade as part of the redevelopment, as it did with its other projects.
“We’re really keen on and focused on preserving that most prominent feature of a 100-plus year old building,” Wilkerson said.
Private theater group Lincoln Theater was brought on by CommunitySmith to manage, operate and be a partner in the project.
The firm also plans to pursue historic tax credits for the redevelopment.
Since it acquired the property in 2008, the Redevelopment Commission has spent more than $301,000 on the theater, including acquisition costs, engineering work and advertisement.
Economic Development Manager Roger Johnson and the Office of Economic Development also requested that the commission accept a $125,000 subgrant award from the Eastern North Carolina Brownfields Coalition to support costs associated with site remediation.
The grant does not require a city contribution and will not include any non-reimbursable expenses from the city.
Final bids for remediation of the theater are due early this month.
Hate to say it, but I think this theater project has been a huge boondoggle. Weren't there structural issues discovered years ago that almost made the theater unusable? I think they should have demolished the theater years ago, and rebuilt it with a nice brick facade. I don't know the exact numbers, but I feel like it would cost less to demolish & start over.
1) There is no good live music venue downtown. This will give you that.
2) This is Historic Preservation in a City that is not known for its Historic buildings.
3) The City found a perfect partner for the project and a reputable theater group to run in Lincoln.
4) It is guaranteed to be a live music venue for 10 years. Certainly all types of acts will play, bringing all types of folks to Uptown Greenville, including visitors and likely spending money while there.
5) The parking deck is a block away.
Ask you this...How much do you think it would cost to put build a 500 person live music venue in uptown Greenville? Certainly much more than what the City will spend.
If ECU moves forward with its performing arts center near 1st St, this could be a one-two punch that re-establishes Greenville in the music scene. That $300K or whatever more is an investment in uptown that will see long term benefits.
1) There is no good live music venue downtown. This will give you that.
2) This is Historic Preservation in a City that is not known for its Historic buildings.
3) The City found a perfect partner for the project and a reputable theater group to run in Lincoln.
4) It is guaranteed to be a live music venue for 10 years. Certainly all types of acts will play, bringing all types of folks to Uptown Greenville, including visitors and likely spending money while there.
5) The parking deck is a block away.
Ask you this...How much do you think it would cost to put build a 500 person live music venue in uptown Greenville? Certainly much more than what the City will spend.
If ECU moves forward with its performing arts center near 1st St, this could be a one-two punch that re-establishes Greenville in the music scene. That $300K or whatever more is an investment in uptown that will see long term benefits.
Valid points HP. I wasn't arguing the need of the theater. It's definitely needed andit will be a great thing to have once it's finished. It just seems like a lot of money has been dumped into it already over the last few years, and all involved will spend millions more to renovate this building. The numbers probably prove me wrong, but it seems like they could have simply demo'd the theater and put a new theater in its place and it would have been faster & cheaper. Just glad this is getting done at last.
Will they call it Uptown Theater? Or Lincoln Theater? Maybe another name entirely?
How about the Roosevelt? the Grant Theater?
Also, that river plan looks excellent. If they can get half of those things from the plan done, it really would make a huge difference in activity on and around the river.
^ I'm excited about the theatre. Some of my best memories in Greenville were from the Attic, live music is sorely missing ever since that place left (no matter how nasty it got inside).
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