Fort Collins’ music-theater- dance mecca, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, closed its doors Tuesday to begin a series of major renovations — the first in its three-decade history.
The renovations are necessary because Fort Collins has doubled in size since the center opened. The center is already at capacity with more than 225,000 visitors each year for its concerts, theater productions and more.
The renovations include:
• An upgraded lobby with a permanent bar, more space and a new seating area.
• A new box office closer to the front of the building for easy access.
• A self-contained, climate- controlled art gallery to host year-round exhibitions.
• Acoustical improvements, paid for by a grant of more than $600,000 from the Downtown Development Authority, that will allow for a new orchestra shell and state-of-the- art sound system.
• A renamed 220-seat second stage theater with improved seating, better sightlines and a bigger lobby.
• An updated balcony lobby with elevator access and entry to the mezzanine and upper opera seating, bathrooms and new event spaces, including an outdoor rooftop deck.
• Doubling the number of rest rooms.
The $7.3 million project, which aims to meet LEED Gold standards, is funded in part by the Building on Basics quarter-cent capital sales tax renewal approved by voters in 2005. Additional fundraising efforts are underway.
The center is expected to reopen in the spring of 2011.
