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Posted: 4:00 a.m.
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
$1 million in state money could speed up Sorg
renovation
Lawmakers’ request would
give Middletown
theater needed financial jolt.
By
Mike Rutledge
Staff Writer
MIDDLETOWN —
Several
volunteers in recent weeks have unloaded most of the 1,100 theater seats
donated to the Sorg Opera House by a movie theater in Northern
Kentucky.
But
operators of the non-profit organization are hoping for an even bigger
contribution this year from the state of Ohio:
State Rep. Tim Derickson, R-Hanover Twp., and other local lawmakers have
requested $1 million from the state’s capital budget to help give the historic Middletown theater a
needed financial jolt to speed restoration.
While
little change may be apparent to those who drive past the theater and office
building on South Main Street
that opened in 1891, Chuck Miller, president of the non-profit Sorg Opera
Revitalization Group LLC, says much has quietly been happening.
“It
took 33 months to turn it into a non-profit,” Miller said.
Crews
have cleared out all the garbage that once filled the building, he said.
And
the non-profit organization obtained an economic-impact study from Richard
Stock, director of the University of Dayton’s Business Research Group that
estimated the four-year impact of the theater — including for businesses nearby
that would benefit from the additional customers drawn by the theater — could
be $15.7 million, with creation of 151 full-time-equivalent jobs.
That
presumes the 55,000-square-foot building’s second- and third-story offices
would be 70 percent occupied at Middletown market rental rates and the theater
would host as many as 18 shows the first year, growing to as many as 48 in the
fourth year.
“Outside
the million-dollar request, we’re trying to raise $80,000 so we can do our code
work and get the building open so we can have sit-down events in moderate
temperatures,” Miller said.
Mild
temperatures are critical to that plan because the building lacks heating and
cooling, he said.
Also,
“We still need to do bathroom repair, exit lighting, the sprinkler system over
the stage needs to be re-plumbed, and we need fire-escape doors,” he said.
“This
(state) request is really aimed at the theater,” Miller said.
The
office-building portion and the theater itself each are expected to cost about
$4 million to refurbish and bring up to code.
Sam
Smith, a legislative aide for Derickson, confirmed the state representative
requested $1 million in the two-year budget for the Sorg, in cooperation with
Reps. Wes Retherford, R-Hamilton; Margy Condit, R-Liberty Twp.; and State Sen.
Bill Coley, R-Liberty Twp.
“It
looks like they’re hoping for an early April introduction date for the bill,”
Smith said, adding it is difficult to estimate how likely it will be that any
given item will remain in the budget bill, which could take a couple months to
be approved after it is introduced.
Although
Coley requested the money in the Senate, he said he has repeatedly told Sorg
supporters that, “while the state might be interested in getting you over the
goal line, we’re not starting you out — we’re not just putting money into
something that doesn’t have enough community support to get it over the finish
line.”
“I
can’t speak for the other legislators, but from my standpoint, it has to be
that they’ve gotten the bulk of the money on their own,” Coley said. “We don’t
put the first dollars in, typically — we put the last dollars in.”
Rick
Pearce, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce serving Middletown,
Monroe and Trenton,
said the project would be an important spark for downtown redevelopment.
“The
Sorg is more than just a magnificent theater and features a companion building
that hosts street level store fronts, office spaces and a fourth floor
ballroom,” Pearce said. “Taken as a whole, the complex will spark downtown’s
cultural, retail and educational economy as well as provide a major anchor
point for future growth and development.”
With
2.2 million people living within a 30-minute radius of downtown Middletown, the Sorg
could help make the city a destination, he said.
“We’re
not by any means going to cure Middletown’s
issues, but we’re going to be able to contribute to the local economy,” Miller
said.
OTHER SORG DEVELOPMENTS
DONATED SEATS
The
new seats “are in good shape,” Chuck Miller, president of the non-profit Sorg
Opera Revitalization Group LLC, said. “We’re going to have to clean them and
put them back together, but we’re pleased.”
The
organization is looking to sell the theater’s former seats as a way to raise
money, he said.
The
seat donation saves “at least $200,000 in expenses,” Miller said of the planned
950 seats.
PRESERVATION LIST
The
group is also trying to get the building named to Preservation Ohio’s Top 10
Most Endangered Buildings.
“It
helps draw more attention,” Miller said.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The
Sorg will be a stop on the May 14 Women’s Wine & Chocolate Walk, which is
expected to be a sell-out 400-person event.
The
next day, the Sorg will hold an open house. At those events, people will be
able to buy the existing seats and “sponsor” the new ones.
Seat
sponsorship prices are still in flux and will depend on the location within the
theater, but the sponsorships will entitle people to a plaque with their name
on it, first right to buy pre-sale tickets for shows, a tax deduction, and
possibly discounted tickets for performances.
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