Albion's closed Bohm Theatre to receive $250,000 grant to restore facade

A $250,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. is offering fresh hope that Albion’s Bohm Theatre can be restored to its once-proud glory.

The grant, which requires an $80,000 match from the nonprofit organization Friends of the Bohm Theatre, is earmarked for facade renovations.

The Albion Downtown Development Authority announced the grant this week.

“The grant will not cover roof work, which is another priority to be repaired/replaced, but we can pay for that work to be done out of our matching funds,” said Nidia Wolf, the DDA’s executive director and co-chair of Friends of the Bohm. “The facade also includes the windows, doors and marquee on the front of the building, as well as egress doors on all sides of the building.”

Wolf said she expects construction to begin on the building, 201 S. Superior St., shortly so the project can be completed “before the snow flies.”

Wolf said community support to re-open a building that closed in 2008 appears to be getting stronger.
More than $65,000 in matching funds has been collected from various grants. Another $8,000 in prize money came from the Reader’s Digest We Hear You America Sweepstakes.

“I'm constantly astonished at the number of people who come up to me and tell me they want to donate in a major way,” she said. “We're being judicious as we know we'll need more later for the interior restoration, but I feel we're doing quite well so far.”

The Friends of the Bohm will have sole ownership of the 82-year-old theater once its purchase from the Calhoun County Land Bank is completed.

Future renovation projects include mechanical work, plumbing and electrical upgrades, and reconstruction of the interior floor plan, Wolf said.

The Friends of the Bohm Theatre hopes the theater can showcase first-run movies by sometime in 2013.
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As published in the Jackson Citizen Patriot on June 25, 2011