Grove Park hopes to reopen historic theater to public by 2027

A rendering of the Grove Park Performing and Cultural Arts Center which is expected to open in Photo provided by Grove Park Foundation Credit Grove Park Foundation Westside residents can expect the area s new Grove Park Performing and Cultural Arts Center to be open by the first quarter of according to Grove Park Foundation Executive Director Gavin McGuire The Grove Park Foundation a nonprofit aimed at revitalizing the Grove Park neighborhood was founded in and purchased the historic Grove Theatre located at Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway NW that same year The nonprofit has since been working to convert the theater into a neighborhood and arts center We added the performing and cultural arts side of things to show respect to the area and really make sure that we highlight the legacy residents the pioneers in the population within the space not only for performing arts but leaders of the population McGuire noted The restoration project has received financial help from numerous sources including million each from the Bank of America and Chick-Fil-A as well as grants from the Fox Theatre According to Urbanize Atlanta the renovation is expected to cost million In February of Urbanize Atlanta announced that the renovation plans for the theater call for additional office space storage space and a break room on the second floor The theater would be on the ground floor and the building s facade would be restored The renovation also includes flexible performances and studio spaces and retail space The Grove Theatre originally opened in June of and shuttered in According to McGuire the space has gone through a great number of iterations since that time including a skating rink and a pawn shop Refurbishing the theatre also brings hope to the locality to see the assets in the area but also more importantly seeing that another node of commercial advance and rise is happening on the West Side and in Grove Park in particular in an area that hasn t constantly been receiving investments and revitalization McGuire stated McGuire stated the Grove Park Foundation operates by four pillars Housing Economic Mobility Vitality and Wellness and Guidance Part of the Grove Theatre project includes retail space the foundation hopes to fill with local businesses at present taking part in what McGuire called the nonprofit s Business Ready project which debuted in January of this year We re not just looking at a moment but how do we build a sustainable model to build the confidence that people need to be whole within the group as all the great things are being built McGuire disclosed We want to help families to grow and to expand and to thrive but not be displaced as all of this great progress is coming to Grove Park The performing and cultural arts center will be located across the street from KIPP Woodson Park Academy and the area s YMCA Early Leaning Center which the foundation helped open back in McGuire stated he hopes the proximity will make it easier to expose kids in Grove Park to the arts The district is excited because for those performing arts options you normally have to leave the society McGuire revealed They re able to not only stay in their locality but fellowship with their neighbors The post Grove Park hopes to reopen historic theater to inhabitants by appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta