HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIDTOWN ARTS CENTER (3750 S. MASON ST.), CHANGE OF USE - PDP - 1-10/A - MEDIA - CORRESPONDENCEllttp://www.coloradoan.com/a-le/20100311BUSINESS/3110326/Mia`-wn Arts Center..
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Like many groups that utilize Lincoln Center,
Canyon Concert Ballet was put into a bit of a tailspin
when it learned it would have to find alternate
venues for its performances, which include a
Christmas production of the Nutcracker as well as a
spring dance performance and school recitals.
But the company has been busy looking at various
new locations, including the Midtown Art Center,
said Kim Carter, CCB executive director, adding, "We
definitely would be interested in the space."
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Midtown Arts Center slated
for fall opening in Fort
Collins
Carousel Theatre to relocate
BY STACY NICK • StacyNick@coloradoan.com
March 11, 2010
Kurt and Kate Terrio had their first date at the Mann
4; now, the couple is hoping to return the old movie
theater to a date -night hot spot once again.
Carousel Dinner Theatre owners have purchased the
former four-plex cinema - which closed in 1999
and up until this year was used by the Lithia car
dealership to store tires and equipment - and plan
to reopen it this fall as the Midtown Arts Center.
"We're so excited that this is finally happening," said
Kurt Terrio, adding that they kept the project secret,
even from the dinner theater's employees, until they
were certain it was going to go through.
The Midtown Arts Center, located at 3750 S. Mason
St., Fort Collins, will feature the Carousel Dinner
Theater - moving just down the block from its
current location at 3509 S. Mason St., Fort Collins -
as well as a black -box studio classroom, a 200-seat
performance hall and a 200-seat
banquet/convention ballroom.
The additional theater space will be rented out to
local theater and music groups, as well as youth
arts groups and school productions. A former
school choir instructor, Terrio said he remembers
what a big deal it was for students to have at least
one performance outside of the usual places like the
school cafeteria or the gymnasium.
"We're not trying to discount the dinner theatre," he
said. 'That's our bread and butter; but we felt that
something would be missing if that was all we did
(with the space)."
The center will open Sept. 10 with the show "Aida," a
production that would have been too large for the
old theater's stage, Terrio said. But patrons who
appreciate Carousel's up -close -and -personal feel
will be glad to hear that even with the larger venue,
no seat will be more than 45 feet from the stage.
"We didn't want to be another cavernous theater like
in Denver or at the Lincoln Center," Terrio said.
"This is one of the things people know us for."
Terrio had his eye on the Mann 4 space for a while
but said he couldn't afford to purchase both the
building and its parking lot. In a cross easement
agreement with the neighboring Institute of
Business and Medical Careers, Terrio was able to
purchase the building and the small front lot and
will share the larger back parking lot with the
school - with IBMC using it during week days and
the theater using it evenings and weekends. Terrio
purchased the building for $700,000 and estimated
that the renovations will cost between $500,000 and
$700,000.
While the updates won't mean much additional
seating for the dinner theater - Carousel currently
has seating for 200 and would be able to fit 210 in
the first phase of its renovation, 260 once it
completes the upper mezzanine in phase two - it
will mean more bathrooms, more backstage space
and more parking. Housed in a warehouse district,
Carousel shares a parking lot with several other
businesses, including an ambulance service center
and a medical marijuana dispensary and parking
always has been an issue for patrons.
The center's fall opening couldn't be better timed as
Fort Collins' major performing arts venue, Lincoln
Center, will be closed for renovations beginning
this summer and into 2011.
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