Amy Murphy Carroll

Town: Playhouse on Track for May 1 Reopening

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Shuttered since the onset of COVID-19, New Canaan’s movie theater is on track to reopen around May 1, officials say. The approximately $8 million renovation of The Playhouse on Elm Street is “going well,” according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. “It’s on schedule,” he told members of the Board of Selectmen during an update on the project at their regular meeting Tuesday, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. “It’s actually—I don’t want to say it’s ‘ahead’ of schedule, so let’s just say it’s ‘on’ schedule—but we’re feeling we’ll be able to open a little bit earlier than we originally anticipated.”

The town’s contract with its construction company has the project completed May 30-June 1, Mann said, though “right now they’re looking at April 30-May 1.”

The architects on the job are “confident as well” with that date, he said. “So that’s what we’re gunning towards,” Mann said.

Amy Murphy Carroll

‘This Is Disappointing’: Playhouse Renovation Estimate Up to $7.9 Million, Double Original Budget

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Due primarily to the unexpected expense of a new HVAC system, the widely anticipated renovation of the town-owned movie theater on Elm Street is now projected to cost about $7.9 million, more than twice the initial budget of $3.9 million, officials say. The town originally anticipated re-using the existing HVAC system in the Playhouse, and budgeted about $400,000 for that part of the project, but due to new Code requirements and the need for better air circulation, the cost has risen by nearly $2 million, to $2.3 million, according to Department of Public Works officials. In addition, the town and its contractors found, after starting the interior demolition of the 1923-built Playhouse, that more structural work was needed than they’d anticipated, Public Works Director Tiger Mann told the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday. “We noticed that during previous work in the building they actually did some damage to the structure itself, taking out some bearing items, some of the girders are separating, some of the areas that needed to be replaced were refashioned,” Mann said during the selectmen’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

“So the structural engineers mentioned things that we’ve got to do on the structural side to make the building whole again. And then, given the fact of, after the eight separate design iterations that we went through to try and fit everything into the building and make it compliant with current standards and make it accessible throughout.

Government

Town Approves $350,000 for Electrical Equipment at Renovated Playhouse

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The Board of Selectmen at its most recent meeting approved a pair of contracts for electrical equipment needed for the widely anticipated renovation project at the Playhouse on Elm Street. Shuttered since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 100-year-old brick movie theater is undergoing major interior work for a reopening later this year. The selectmen during their Feb. 19 meeting voted unanimously in favor of an approximately $24,000 contract with a Danbury-based company for switchgear equipment, and a $325,000 contract with an Avon-based company for equipment such as air handlers and condensers. 

Bill Oestmann, superintendent of buildings in the Department of Public Works, said Building Codes and Energy Codes have “changed quite a bit” recently. “They just changed in October so we’ve got a couple of extra things added to it that we have to do by Code now,” Oestmann said during the meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference.

Government

Moynihan: Playhouse To Reopen in 2023; Town Approves $385,000 for Demo, Abatement

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The Board of Selectmen last week approved an approximately $385,000 contract with a Ridgefield-based firm for demolition and abatement work at The Playhouse. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted 3-0 in favor of the contract with Alden Bailey. The work will involve “selective construction, demolition and abatement services,” according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. It includes the removal of a chimney and some flooring, abatement from two areas of the Elm Street building and creation of a new elevator shaft, Mann said during the selectmen’s regular meeting, held Jan. 26 at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

The work will take about six to eight weeks “while we finalize the design drawings that will go to Building and P&Z [Planning & Zoning],” Mann said.

Government

Selectmen Approve $175,000 Contract for Interior Demo Work at Playhouse

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Town officials this month approved an approximately $175,000 contract with a Ridgefield-based firm for interior demolition and abatement at the movie theater on Elm Street. The Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 in favor of the $175,381 contract with Alden Bailey Restoration. 

“This will open up the area and allow the architects and the engineers to get in and take a deeper dive and look and then finalize the design and then come back with the interior fit-out for the Playhouse itself,” Public Works Director Tiger Mann told the selectmen at their Dec. 13 meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. The town in November approved a $25,000 with the same firm for “design-build consulting services,” which requires Alden Bailey to work with the local architect Architectural Preservation Studios, as well as the engineer on the renovation project, to move more quickly through the design and bidding processes. The selectmen asked whether the town had bid out the new contract (no, it follows from the design-build), whether the firm has expertise in restoration (yes), whether the work is in the budget for the Playhouse (yes and the town believes the overall project is coming in within budget), whether there’s an individual line item in the budget for the work (no) and what the interior demolition work involves (removing the balcony and projection room, which will house new ADA bathrooms and an elevator).