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Restore NY Grant Application to Build Downtown Theater
The city of Auburn will seek funds from a statewide grant program to help turn one of its own downtown buildings into a theater. The city announced in April that it will submit to the Restore NY Communities Initiative program a proposal for tearing down the former Kalet Building on State Street and building a 300-seat theater.
The project would depend on $2.4 million from the state program, which is aimed at funding urban projects that will reconstruct or revitalize condemned, abandoned or vacant properties. The theater would primarily be utilized for the musical theater festival currently planned to take place in the area.
The city of Auburn owns the dilapidated building located at 1 State St., which used to house a department store. A Restore NY grant can only be awarded to a project in a city-owned building if there are no government offices within the structure.
The musical theater project was one of 11 proposals submitted to the city during the pre-application process. Other projects included restoration of the Schine's Theater, the Cayuga Museum Carriage House Theater and a project on North Street known as Brister Mill that includes residential and commercial development.
A proposal to restore the Kalet building was included in the city's last application for a Restore NY grant, though that plan did not involve building a theater. Auburn Director of Planning and Economic Development Jennifer Haines said Monday that the Musical Theater plan was the best candidate for this specific grant because the program looks for projects that build on development plans that are already in place.
The Kalet building and pedestrian-model downtown were mentioned in the city's last comprehensive plan, she said. And multiple business groups announced plans during the fall for a major overhaul of the buildings on the first block of State Street.
The Kalet building is the last structure that needs to be addressed to finish that whole vision, she said. “Standing alongside those partners and being part of finishing that block, (the theater) looked to be very competitive related to what the state is looking for,” Haines said.
If the grant is awarded and the reconstruction takes place, the new theater would eventually be owned and operated by the company running the musical theater festival. Michael Chamberlain, vice president for the Musical Theater Festival, said that the theater on State Street would be one of multiple venues utilized during the festival.
Festival organizers foresee a 10 – 12 week festival taking place annually in and around Auburn. Chamberlain said a recent feasibility study predicted the possibility of 150,000 visitors and $30 million every year for the city.
While multiple locations have been discussed for a new theater, the possible Restore NY funds make the Kalet building desirable. “The opportunity for the grant has certainly moved that site further up on the list of potential sites,” Chamberlain said. “If the grant doesn't come through, we're going to need to look at whether the site still makes sense.”
The city released the pre-applications in mid February, and they were due back to the city a week later. The city council unanimously supported the theater proposal during a straw poll at their March 5th meeting. The public hearing was held on April 16th and the vote for submission of the application on April 23rd. The final application is due by May 4th.
The Kalet proposal will be competing against other projects across central New York for a yet-to-be-named amount of funding. However, the entire Restore New York program is distributing approximately $150 million for its latest grant recipients.
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