All Over Albany

Capital Rep a step closer to moving its theater

Capital Rep has landed a $2 million state grant for that warehouse space it bought at North Pearl and Livingston this past summer, and it's now openly talking about eventually moving its theater there.

The grant money is from the New York State Homes and Community Renewal's (HCR) Rural and Urban Community Investment Fund. From a Capital Rep/Proctors press release:

Projected redevelopment of the 33,000-square-foot space is a key element of a planned $7.9 million project to create a permanent home for Capital Repertory Theatre as the cornerstone of a block-wide revitalization of downtown Albany, providing Arbor Hill, the Warehouse District and underserved residents of the neighborhood with a variety of resources. The building is near Ida Yarbrough Homes, an HCR-funded affordable housing development. The theatre company, the Albany Housing Authority, and local service organizations are partnering to develop programs for workforce training and job placement at the café, in theatre operations, and in an expanded Downtown Ambassadors program. ...

As envisioned, theREP at Livingston Square would be a "community living room," providing entertainment, engagement and workforce development while allowing the theatre company--a member of the League of Resident Theatres and the only professional, producing theatre in a 14-county range--to remain in downtown Albany. Artist housing and patron parking are important future phases of a broader project, which is already attracting potential commercial investment in the neighborhood.

The theater company is currently using the Livingston/Pearl space for tech work and storage.

As alluded to in the blurbage, that section of Albany has a lot in progress right now. The redevelopment of the Ida Yarbrough Homes across Pearl Street is in progress. Just down the hill on Livingston, Albany Distilling Co. is repurposing a building as a new tasting room and retail shop. Around the block on Broadway, developer Patrick Chiou is renovating a row of vacant housing. And on the block just to the south, between Pearl and Broadway, work has started for new construction at 760 Broadway that will include now include 88 residential units. (And there's even more activity just a few blocks south.)

Capital Rep is also in the running for a different $2 million grant. And Philip Morris told Steve Barnes Capital Rep would like to have $5 million committed before formally moving ahead the theater move. [Biz Review] [TU]

Cap Rep has been looking for some sort of solution for its current space below a parking garage on Pearl Street for years -- either acquiring the building and renovating or moving.