BATAVIA — The Main Street 56 Theater may be ready to turn over to Batavia Players, Inc., this spring, the project’s general contractor said Thursday.
“The interior of the theater is 90% completed,” said Madison Wesolowski of Thompson Builds, Inc., general contractor. “Most of the finishes are completed or a going to be completed soon — painting, flooring, final fixtures, etc. Right now we are shooting for a late February/early March turn over. As long as the weather cooperates, there are a few weather dependent finishes going in the new front façade.”
The Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) project includes a state-of-the-art performing arts center, educational facilities, dance, and set development with a Main Street entrance at 35 Batavia City Centre. This project will leverage grant funding from the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) grant program and the New York Main Street program. Aside from DRI funding, the project is receiving $417,000 in New York Main Street Anchor Grant funding.
A Thompson Builds crew Thursday was taking down the old facade facing Main Street, a worker at the site said. Workers were hoping to be done with that Thursday afternoon, he said.
“We just started the demo of the front facade. The existing precast mall exterior is being removed and an entirely new storefront in being installed in its place,” Wesolowski said. “This is the last major piece of the project. Once this is finished the work on the interior should be wrapped up and we can turn it over to the owner.”
Inside the City Centre, risers for the theater’s seating are complete. The actual seating is being taken care of by the owners, Batavia Players, he said.
“Weather has not been much of a factor on this project, as it’s mostly an interior renovation. With a new façade, there has to be a temporary wall built to keep the elements out,” Wesolowski said. “Lead times on materials are improving and we did not experience a ton of delays when we started. If there was an issue on materials being available, we were able to work with the owner on selecting a different product to keep things moving. The front of the building/new entrance is the last piece, and it really is the cherry on top of this project.”
Project consultant David Ciurzynski of Ciurzynski Consulting, LLC, said Thompson Builds continues to work on the interior of the building coordinating the finishes as well as the mechanical and electrical trades.
“From there we can get the millwork installed for the new ticket sales and concessions installed and finalize mechanical and electrical fixtures,” Ciurzynski said.”On the exterior they are working to remove the existing precast wall panels. From there, they will have the structural support installed and then the aluminum framing and glass for the new facade. Once in place the roof can be patched and the EIFS installed on the remaining precast concrete panels.”
Ciurzynski said once the flooring is installed, the seating can be installed.
“The platforms are built and ready for carpet. The seats should only take a couple days to install,” he said.
“Thompson Builds has done a very nice job coordinating the work and addressing issues as they arise. While working in the cold slows productivity, the trades have kept at the work, so we haven’t experienced any significant weather delays,” Ciurzynski said. “We feel confident that we can substantially complete the work by the end of March. From there The Batavia Players have some minor details to attend to, I know they are excited to open their first show in the new theater.”
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