As the Historic Centralia Fox Theatre Board of Directors seeks community financial investment to continue the restoration of the historic theater, The Chronicle took a tour of the roughly 20,000-square-foot building Monday morning.
Board members told the Centralia City Council during a presentation last week that the project is approaching a standstill due to insufficient funding. While the team of contractors and volunteer board members have utilized $3,908,504 toward restoration activities since 2016 and many improvements have been made, they still need somewhere in the range of $1 million to $1.5 million to complete the project and leverage its historic tax credits.
Joe Clark, president of the board, said the group’s priority for possible funding, given its tight timeline with its historic tax credits, is to request that the City of Centralia financially invest in the Fox Theatre, a building already owned by the city. An option would be a non-voter-approved bond approved by the city council, which Clark hopes would be in the $1.5 million range as the board works toward a certificate of occupancy to begin putting on events in a limited capacity. The board hopes funding will come in the next three to six months.
Andrew Christensen, president and owner of Construct, Inc., told The Chronicle that the final pieces of construction currently taking place before the project hits a standstill are the elevator and the reforming of the stage. The three-stop elevator is new to the Fox Theatre and will make stops at the green room, the audience level and the stage.
During the final phases of construction, the effort will be to complete interior finishes and some remaining historic restoration. While core infrastructure is largely in place, interior finishes and theatre systems must be completed before a full certificate of occupancy and grand reopening can occur.
Planned work includes the building envelope and interior infrastructure such as electrical work, completion of the elevator, HVAC, an interior fire sprinkler, flooring, painting, casework, wall protection, and more.
The board created a budget organized into phases that may allow the Fox Theatre to obtain a limited certificate of occupancy prior to full completion of the restoration. This means that while final components of the full restoration are underway, the theatre can open under a limited certificate of occupancy for small-scale public events such as musical performances, comedy shows, wine tastings, and venue rentals.
For its next phases, aiming toward a limited certificate of occupancy, the board is looking at a budget of $1,837,146 for construction to transition the building from “structurally restored” to an “operational” performing arts venue. Additionally, a final phase will include most of the larger cost theatre systems such as theatre seating installation, stage rigging system, sound and AV systems, and acoustic drapes, curtains and tapestries.
When Fox Theatre is eventually completed, it will include 737 seats, including about 340 seats on the floor level. Completed work over the past decade includes exterior improvements such as brickwork, seismic retrofitting and roofing.
The entire building has been re-wired, ducted, plumbed, regraded for accessibility, fitted with fire suppression systems, and more.
Clark emphasized that because the Fox Theatre is listed on the City of Centralia Historic Register, the performing arts venue could not have been turned into any other type of building. The city also mandates that the exterior and iconic marquee must be restored to original condition and that the space will serve community-centered programming.
Once operational, the theatre is conservatively forecasted to contribute between $418,000 and $1 million in economic benefit during its first year of operation. Spend estimates include meals and refreshments, souvenirs and gifts, ground transport and overnight lodging. The theatre is forecasted to serve more than 20,000 people annually, according to a report from the board.
By the fifth year of operations, Fox Theatre is expected to employ at least five full-time equivalent jobs.
Though the historic restoration board has successfully secured grant support and city backing in the past, the organization has faced setbacks over the past year. The board continues to pursue historic tax credits that will bring the restoration even closer to the finish line. The application was submitted for the historic tax credit in May 2023 and approved, with the board estimating that these credits will generate between $600,000 and $800,000 in revenue. However, the historic tax credits and municipal support that could have allowed a certificate of occupancy by the end of 2025 were not secured.
For more information on the board’s presentation to the city council, visit previous Chronicle reporting at https://tinyurl.com/43vvdj2r.
