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 $40,000 Contract To Redesign ‘Potting Shed’ at Waveny as All-Season Bathroom

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Town officials last week agreed to enter into an approximately $40,000 contract with a New Canaan-based design firm to help convert a structure in Waveny Park into a year-round bathroom facility. The “potting shed” at Waveny is located next to the Powerhouse Theatre, down the hill from forecourt of the main house. The building has been “used for storage for a long time,” New Canaan Buildings Superintendent Bill Oestmann told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting, held Aug. 3 at Town Hall. “It suffered a couple of issues last year where the floor gave way and we had to do a little interior demolition on it,” Oestmann said.