A number of people packed the Plymouth City Council chambers Monday night to learn about the next phase in the REES Theatre renovation efforts.
Grant Administrator Shannon McLeod from Priority Project Resources explained that the City of Plymouth is applying for the federal OCRA funds in the amount of $500,000 on behalf of the REES Theatre group. The City acts as a pass-through vehicle for the funding, but supports the project in order to properly apply for the funding.
“It’s a competitive grant process, but we’re going to do our due diligence to put in a strong application,” said McLeod.
Brent Martin from SKRM Architects noted that the project enters the third and fourth phases of the renovation process after two-and-a-half years in the process. The grant funds support the interior construction, or final phase of the project. The project cost is $1.9 million with $1.4 million already raised by the REES Theatre Group. The grant completes the rest of the required funds.
Members of the community look forward to the opening of the facility on it’s 80th anniversary and fully support the project.
If success doesn’t come in this grant round, another opportunity becomes available this fall. The delay pushes back the opening of the facility a few months if the application fails this spring, but after hearing the comments Monday night, Brent Martin is confident that it will be accepted this round.
“To have all of these nice, positive comments…you know what? I don’t think the Lieutenant Governor can possibly stay no,” laughed Martin.
The full application is due June 28.
