The Florida Theatre is closing from July to October for the next round of renovations in its Centennial Campaign, which started in 2019 to prepare the historic venue for its 100th anniversary in 2027.
During the closure, the city-owned theater at 128 E. Forsyth St. Downtown will have all the decorative plaster in the auditorium repaired; the lobbies and auditorium will be painted; the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system will be replaced; the building’s electrical vault will be moved from the first to the third floor; and the public restrooms will be redesigned and renovated.
“By the end of this calendar year, over the last four years, we will have raised and spent $15 million on building improvements to the historic Florida Theatre,” said Numa Saisselin, president of the Florida Theatre, in a news release.
Jacksonville-based Auld & White Constructors is the general contractor for the project and Sauer Construction is handling the HVAC work. Clark Advisory Services is the venue’s representative. The plaster and paint work is being done by EverGreene Studios, which drilled core samples to match the original colors used in the theater.
“We want to make the building functionally better for how we use it today by improving it with 50-year solutions so we can be financially solvent for the next 100 years,” Ed White of Auld & White Constructors, and a member of the Florida Theatre Capital Campaign Committee, said in the release.
The theater already has replaced the 1,865 seats in the auditorium, doubled the wheelchair seating capacity, installed a new assistive listening system for the hard of hearing, improved aisle lighting and handrails, installed a new concert sound and lighting system and renovated the second floor of the office building into the Remedy Lounge; which was the first expansion of the venue’s public space in 95 years.
The city is a partner in financing the renovation, matching private donations dollar for dollar. The capital campaign is funded by 138 donors to date and a restoration fee is assessed on all ticket sales.
“After this, there’s about $8 million left of work to do to get the rest of the building where it needs to be, including expanding the entry lobby, a new artist hospitality space and dressing room improvements, marquee restorations and administrative office improvements,” Saisselin said.
While the theater is closed for renovations, it will continue to book and put shows on sale for the fall and have off-site events.
According to the theater website, the next scheduled events after the renovation is a Theaterworks performance Nov. 1 and Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre on Nov. 2.