FeedsTheater group faces deadline
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The Historic Wayne Theater has been vacant for more than 20 years.Yesterday could have been a turning point for the fate of the Historic Wayne Theater.
The theater faced a 2 p.m. hearing in front of the Dangerous Building officer to talk about progress made during the last year.
The group of volunteers dedicated to preserving the 80-year-old movie house faced a self-imposed deadline of one year to come up with the funds needed to bring it up to code.
Don Nicholson, capital fundraising chairman of the theater group, said he would ask the city for more time.
“I’m going in there with a plan on how we can continue to operate,” he said.
The outcome of the hearing wasn’t known at press time.
Nicholson was the one who suggested the one-year time frame as a way to convince city leaders that efforts to restore the theater were genuine. He offered to deed the property over to the city if the group could not generate enough revenue to bring the building up to code. The title to the building has been in escrow since then.
He said he planned to meet with their consultants, Zachary and Associates, prior to the meeting to see if restoration was indeed feasible.
“It’s pretty much up to Zachary and Associates to come up with a feasible financing plan and for the city to accept it,” he said.
The group has put on a series of fundraisers throughout the year, including the Beat the Bulldozer Concert Series, which took place every Saturday night. Despite plenty of publicity, however, the concerts weren’t that successful.
“The community really never jumped up to the plate and helped out,” Nicholson said. “Attendance at the concerts was dismal, at best. I don’t know if anyone in the community really wants us to go forward.”
Support has been there–John Ratliff at Lia & T.J.’s Donuts has been a stalwart benefactor, and resident Nancy Pride contributed a large donation–but not what Nicholson said he hoped.
Peter McInerney, community development director for the City of Wayne, said he Tuesday he didn’t know what would happen at the hearing. Just because the group volunteered to deed the property to city didn’t mean it would happen.
“The city council would have to act on it,” he said. “If they don’t accept it, there’s no deal. The city can’t accept a donation without an affirmative action by the city council.”
The board could grant an extension, he said. They could also make the theater group follow the original orders of the Dangerous Building officer–to fix it up or tear it down.
“That’s what the city’s position has always been,” he said, “to have them fix it up or tear it down. That’s the goal of the ordinance.”
Nicholson said he wanted to fully restore the theater and turn it into a regional attraction that would host concerts and a variety of arts groups.
“it’s a fantastic plan, but the community has to want it,” Nicholson said.
