Jennifer Santos 05.FEB.09
Local business owners and members of Historic Boston Inc. are another step closer to reaching their dream of restoring the Everett Theatre on 1-11 Fairmount Ave., between Cleary and Logan squares.
On Friday, the groups met with Kennedy Smith, a consultant of the Community Land Use and Economics Group LLC. (CLUE), to access the physical and financial feasibility of rehabilitating the Everett Theatre and to discuss alternative ways in which the building could be used. CLUE is a consulting firm based in Arlington, VA that helps communities create vibrant, dynamic downtowns and neighborhoods.
According to Jeff Gonyeau, Senior Program Manager of Historic Neighborhood Centers, Smith was hired for this study because of her experience with redeveloping historic theatres in the U.S.
In a written document distributed during the meeting, the Historic Neighborhood Centers said, "The theatre is one of the few surviving but dormant theatre buildings in the city that has not been so altered that it could not be converted back into use as a performance venue."
Following a tour of the theatre, Smith said the structure was "in pretty good shape" and that "given the new market tax credit today, I would estimate the cost of restoration would be $5-6 million depending on what type of productions would go in place."
Smith suggested the Everett theatre could be restored to its original use as a movie theatre but that it can also be a place for businesses to hold conferences, air live sporting events or operas, host video game competitions and small theatre productions. Other suggestions made by the group were to bring local musicians for live performances on the weekend. "I think most people didn?t think of the theatre?s use in any other way, no other options were available," said building owner Pat Tierney. "But I do believe there is a need for it to function for other reasons."
The last time a feasibility study was conducted on the Everett Theatre was in 1997 when it was funded a $44,000 grant by the City of Boston?s Technical and Management Assistance Program.
??In that study, the theatre was found to be economically viable as a medium-sized performance and rehearsal facility with an estimated rehabilitation cost of $2.7 million.
The current study is being supported in part by a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation?s National Trust Preservation Fund. With the support of Historic Boston Inc., Smith and Kevin Maguire of Building Initiatives, LLC., have begun reaching out to local stakeholders in Hyde Park and professional theatre managers in Boston and Massachusetts for their input and advice on this project.
"Most big time theaters are generating most of their revenue during the day or on weekends instead of the evening," said Smith.
Tierney told Smith that what has prevented the theatre from being rehabilitated and put back in use is the lack of money. Heat is currently available at the bottom of the building to prevent freezing but the biggest expense is the insurance cost, said Tierney.
"We have fundraisers and we really try but we have never been able to get it together." Tierney said.
According to Hyde Park resident Jay Paget, the way to get the project started would be to find a theatre manager. Paget suggested the manager should hold the responsibility to research other theatres that have had similar problems and to develop a market strategy.
"Hyde Park is not an isolated town in Kansas," said Gonyeau. "We are a neighborhood in a city with lots of night life and the challenge is to find a niche to draw people from Milton, Dedham and Boston?s Downtown theatre district."
Smith advised the group against going into more debt for this building project, stating that it would be best to raise money in cash. Smith also asked the group to discuss whether this is a good time to begin fundraising for such a project given the current status of the economy.
"Ultimately it will be the decision of the owners to decide what will happen to the building but it?s also up to them to decide if they want to reach out to the community to make a decision on what type of programming to have at the theatre," said Smith.
Building owners also have the option to decide if the theatre should operate as a rental house or a presenting house. A rental house would allow the theatre to hire outside companies to bring in their own productions, whereas a presenting house would mean the theatre selects acts and productions themselves.
Given the intimate setting of the Everett Theatre and the low ceilings, Smith said she could see the theatre having good acoustics and functioning with plenty of diversity as a neighborhood theatre. Boston currently has a collection of theatres with high ceilings that can accommodate large productions such as The Lion King, therefore the Everett Theatre should not have to worry about elevating its ceilings to accommodate such a production, said Smith.
"You have to look outside the box," said Mike Tallon, owner of Townsend?s Restaurant in Logan Square. "We can?t be tied to what the theatre was 50 years ago. It?s a beautiful theatre, you get goose bumps just imagining what it used to look like and what it could look like."
- The Bulletin Newspapers
