TheatreSquared, Fayetteville’s professional regional theater, announced today $12.5 million in gifts toward building a permanent home.
It will get a $9 million grant for construction from the Walton Family Foundation, to be paid when the theater meets a 1:2 fundraising challenge. It also got $3.5 million from the foundation’s Northwest Arkansas Design Excellence Program to support the building’s design.
A public campaign for matching money, including some initial lead gifts from local contributors, will begin this spring and the theater hopes for groundbreaking this year.
Plans call for a 50,000-square-foot building with two theaters, rehearsal space, offices and eight apartments for visiting artists, plus a cafe/bar at West and Spring Streets on leased city property.
The theater currently occupies space across the street in a former warehouse at Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios. A news release notes the new theater will directly connect to the Razorback Greenway, a regional bike trail that runs from Fayetteville to Bentonville. Lots more details and drawings at ournextstage.org.
Imagine what The Rep could do with $12.5 million.
