Fox Theatre plans major renovations – Community

WALSENBURG — The Walsenburg Fox Theatre, with support from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) and the Colorado Center for Community Development, a division of the University of Colorado Denver’s College of Architecture and Planning, has launched a project that aims to redesign and expand the existing theater building and provide new services to the community. One proposed design, for example, includes the construction of a new conference venue as part of the theater complex. Architecture students and staff at CU Denver have created four designs to “to revitalize and reimagine our historic Fox Theatre,” according to the theater website. The theater is now making available an online survey seeking community input on the plans, which it calls concepts A-D.

The survey includes floorplans for each design, which are supplemented by 3-D “flythrough” videos hosted on YouTube. The competing floorplans are also available on the theater’s website. The floorplans and videos are intended to illustrate only the basic outline of each design concept, so they lack details such as colors, and other interior design elements. Theater director Mike Peters said the theater has received 49 survey responses so far and hopes to get 100 before the survey closes on August 12.

Paper copies of the survey are available at the theater for those who prefer them. Each of the proposed designs includes an expanded lobby, a second, smaller cinema and stage, and musical performance space in the lobby. A bar/lounge is also included in each plan. Two of the plans propose adding to the theater’s current footprint, with one incorporating the building on the theater’s north side, and one developing the vacant lot to the south.

Asked whether the city needs an additional bar, theater director Mike Peters said that “concession café” would be a better term. He said, “As a non-profit, we are permitted 15 special event permits each year that enable us to sell alcohol. So far, we’ve yet to use all fifteen in a year. We currently have no desire to maintain and operate a bar.

” All four plans include a green room adjacent to the main stage, but only one — Concept C — includes a restroom with the green room. Currently, the main auditorium has 241 seats. All four plans reduce the number of seats there. Concept A leaves 130 seats in the main auditorium, Concept B leaves 128, Concept C leaves only 112, and Concept D leaves 184, according to the current floorplans.

Because the theater’s main auditorium is used for community meetings, its seating capacity is important. The redesign process began in September 2018 when Huerfano County signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with DOLA and CU Denver, formally launching the renovation planning process. The four designs were first made publicly available on the theater’s website in late June. According to the website, the renovation project seeks to “monetize all space.

” The MOU states that the small number of moviegoers visiting the theater each week is insufficient to sustain it. Each section of the renovated theater will have the potential to generate revenue either by charging admission for theater-sponsored, ticketed events, by renting out the space for events, and by selling food and drinks at the concession stands and bars included in each design. Concept A Among the four plans, Concept A most closely resembles the current theater layout. It adds a second, smaller theater and a second concession stand on the second level and makes the seating in the current auditorium much steeper.

The sloped seating creates a new space underneath the steep seats which faces the lobby and makes a “bandshell,” a performance space for musicians will be created in the lobby. Concept B This design also creates a second cinema on the second floor, but this one is much larger than the one in Concept A. It also creates a second-floor concession stand to accompany the upper theater. The ground floor auditorium has a lounge and concession stand immediately behind the seats.

In fact, one could watch the movie from the concession stand as some seats face the stage/screen. It’s unclear whether the light from the concession stand would interfere with the darkness needed to enjoy the films. This design also adds a stage for musicians in one corner of the front lobby. Concept C Concepts C and D both involve the purchase and development of adjoining lots.

Plan C incorporates the building to the north of the theater. In the adjacent building, the plan calls for a small cinema, a classroom, and a kitchen. Next to the kitchen, and extending into the lobby of the main building, the design includes a dining area and bar. The main building has the main auditorium, an enlarged lobby with an open stage for small performances.

The second floor of the main building has a VIP lounge and event space. Concept D This plan is the largest and most ambitious. It involves acquiring and developing the vacant lot on the theater’s south side. More notably, the plan proposes the creation of a conference venue on the second floor, a space with an outdoor terrace.

Like the other plans, this one has a large and small cinema. It has an expanded lobby with a café, a bar, and an entertainment stage. The second floor also includes a VIP lounge. Asked what conferences the theater envisions taking place in the theater, Peters said, “We believe Walsenburg is a central location for our surrounding communities to meet and gather.

If you look at the official regional tourism map, we’re in a great spot. In the future, we hope to see more eSports competitions, cannabis conventions, sales meetings, and educational conferences. ” According to the theater’s website, the Fox was last renovated in 1992. Theater director Mike Peters said that several improvements have been made since then, including a new LED whiteboard, the purchase of a laser projector, new marquee letters and new neon lights.

The theater building is owned by Huerfano