Listen to experts on theater costs

8/4/08
Stratford officials need to withhold judgment on a price estimate to reopen the Shakespeare Theater until all the facts are in. Though initial numbers look high (as much as $19 million, compared to the chosen theater operator’s $3 million), council members need to hear the details before making a decision.
The theater has been closed for decades, and after years of false starts and backsliding, the town has an operator in place. But the theater’s physical condition, it’s safe to say, has not improved over the years of disuse.
The BL Cos. LLC, of Meriden, has issued a 1,000-page report to Mayor James R. Miron and the council that says it could cost much more than previously expected to get the theater going again. The price tag for the most comprehensive renovations could climb to $19.2 million.
The company is expected to detail its report when the Town Council meets in a special session tonight in Town Hall.
From the beginning, nothing has been easy about getting the facility open again. There’s good reason to think that if operating a working Shakespearean theater in Stratford was a viable business option, someone would have found a way to do it years ago.
As it is, Stratford officials can only work with what they’ve got. That means they have to deal with costs and obstacles as they exist, not as they wish they looked. Nineteen years is a long time for a theater to stand vacant, and renovation costs, along with everything else, are skyrocketing.
This can’t be done on the cheap. Listen to the survey’s findings, and figure out the best way forward. Stratford can’t ignore the facts because they happen to be inconvenient.