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Renovation Plans for Local Theater on Pause

Theater
An overhead shot of Kalita Humphrey's Theater | Image by Delphinus Drones/Dallas City Theater Facebook

The Dallas Theater Center’s proposal to revamp the Kalita Humphreys Theater and the surrounding 10-acre park has hit a roadblock due to opposition over its price tag and scope.

As the project currently stands, it will cost the City approximately $308 million.

Officials from the Dallas Theater Center were supposed to present the project to the Park and Recreation Board, Culture and Arts Advisory Commission, and Landmark Commission before the end of this month, per The Dallas Morning News.

But upon presenting the plan to the Arts, Quality of Life, and Culture Committee in January, many City officials questioned the cost in light of other park projects struggling to get off the ground, as The Dallas Express previously reported.

“We are in a pause while we consider the feedback we’ve received from our colleagues at the city and throughout the community,” Kevin Moriarty, executive director of the Dallas Theater Center, told The Dallas Morning News. “When we’ve completed our reflection, we’ll resume engagement.”

The 64-year-old Kalita Humphreys Theater on Turtle Creek Boulevard is the only theater that famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright was able to complete before his death in 1959.

Working from his Oak Park Studio, Wright designed thousands of structures, including the UNESCO-designated world heritage sites Fallingwater in Pennsylvania, the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, and the Unity Temple in Chicago.

The master plan to restore the 500-seat theater, which has suffered damage from decades of neglect, would cost $52 million, per The DMN.

In line with a recommendation from the City’s Arts and Culture Advisory Commission upon the Dallas Theater Center’s lease renewal of the property in 2019, officials included the surrounding park in their master plan.

As such, the master plan includes improvements to the land and the nearby Katy Trail, which was built on a former railway line, amounting to $56 million. It also proposes the construction of a pedestrian bridge to connect the lot to Katy Trail and Turtle Creek for an additional $10 million.

After receiving feedback from other stakeholders, including local theater groups and advocates for parks and historic preservation, officials enlarged the scope of the master plan even further.

The master plan thus aims to construct four new buildings, courtyards, plazas, walkways, a restaurant, and a café for $168 million. A new 380-space underground parking garage was also added to the master plan for an estimated cost of $22 million.

Amid calls from City officials to propose a more streamlined plan for the theater, the master plan in its current form appears to be indefinitely stalled.

Rudy Karimi, who sits on the City’s Park and Recreation Board, suggested to the DMN that the Dallas Theater Center won’t be presenting any renovation plans before later this summer.

“I’m eager to see a new plan because I do feel the current plan is not going to move forward at the Park Board level or the City Council level,” Karimi explained. “I would imagine the DTC folks and other folks are aware of that as well.”

Council Member Paul Ridley of District 14, the district where the theater is located, told the DMN that he was open to a new proposal.

“Focusing on prioritizing the restoration of the Kalita would be most preferable in my opinion,” Ridley said.

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1 Comment

  1. Bill

    Anytime the city wants to do something they come up with a ridiculous bloated budget. A private venture would accomplish the same task at 1/3rd the cost.

    Reply

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