Construction has begun on Nelson’s Civic Theatre renovation, marking a significant milestone for a project years in the making.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Wednesday as the Nelson Civic Theatre Society moves ahead with the first phase of plans to transform the historic venue into a three-screen cinema.
Fundraising for the project was first launched in 2017 but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, rising construction costs and structural issues at the Civic Centre that forced the theatre to close in 2023.
Executive director Eleanor Stacey said reaching this point reflects years of planning, fundraising and co-ordination with the City of Nelson and project partners.
“Today is a culmination of many years of preparation, of grant writing, of working with the municipality to get the site ready, especially after the roof repairs that have happened. And we finally found ourselves in a moment where we have the funds to complete a significant first phase for the project.”
She said this first phase will focus on reopening the historic main auditorium, along with upgrades to the lobby and fully accessible washrooms.
Stacey said she hopes to bring audiences back into the building within a year, though it depends on construction progress.
“The timeline is firmly in the hands of Chandos Construction, which is the construction management that’s managing this entire project with us. Our expectation is that it will be within the year that we finish the whole project, but we’re hoping that we might still be able to see people in seats by Christmas,” said Stacey.
“But these kinds of things do need a little bit more time once we get inside, so we have to see how things look once we get in there.”
The long-term vision of turning the building into a three-screen venue remains, with two additional screening rooms to be built behind the original auditorium.
However, Stacey said another fundraising push is still needed, with $2.4 million left to raise of the $7.4-million total.
“That’s the amount that we need. As it is right now, we are close to $5 million and that’s why we can move forward with the project now,” she said.
“In addition to that, we also have a line of credit from the City of Nelson that is giving us the flexibility to be able to finish things until we’re able to raise that extra raise that last [amount],”
She said the cost of the theatre’s two-year shutdown has been absorbed into the $7.4-million total as well.
“The continuity cost for NCTS to continue to exist over the last two years, where we’ve lost 80 per cent of our operating income, is having to be absorbed by this project as well. It’s not a huge amount of money, but it is considerable enough,” said Stacey.
She said the society is working to ensure its fundraising campaign, including naming rights, covers both construction and the ongoing costs of operating the theatre once it reopens.
Once complete, the society said the expanded Civic Theatre will allow for more programming flexibility and improved financial sustainability compared with its previous single-screen model.
Despite the remaining fundraising gap, Stacey said the groundbreaking marks a turning point for the long-delayed project.
“After more than a decade of efforts to raise funds to renovate this theater and turn it into a three-screen venue, today is the day when we announced to the community that we’re moving forward with the project,” said Stacey.
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