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22
Oct 2007
Historic theater is a long shot, but still the best bet
Posted by Scott Spielman
at 1:42 PM | Comments (1)
There seems to be a bit of confusion lingering about the status of the Historic Wayne Theater.
Part of that could be my fault; I wrote a story with the headline: Theater group halts restoration plans for the paper last week. We print the paper on Tuesday night and publish it on Thursday. Wednesday afternoon the story changed.
For the record, though, I don’t believe anyone in the city administration wants the theater torn down. At least, they don’t want to pay for it. The city would have the authority to order it razed if the Dangerous Building Appeals Board rules that way, but the costs would be astronomical. It cost about $100,000 to tear down the old Nankin Hospital and that structure was no where near as big, sturdy or complicated as the old Palace Theater.
Nobody has the money required to demolish the theater. The city could fund it, initially, and put the cost on the tax roll, but they would never recoup those costs.
The best bet is for the community—or some large investor—to come together with enough money to bring it up to code and then plan for its renovation and expansion. It’s a long shot, but it’s the best bet for the city.
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