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Holyoke commission endorses Victory Theater rehabilitation; planners to review stage-extension proposal
Summary
The commission voted to send a letter of support for the Victory Theater's state historic tax credit application. Presenters described completed preconstruction work, restored murals, and a proposed four-foot rear-stage extension into an alley that has fire-department concurrence but will require planning-department review.
The Holyoke Historical Commission voted March 3 to send a letter of support for the Victory Theater’s historic tax-credit application, with commissioners approving the motion by roll call.
Mary Nastasi, a historic tax-credit consultant with Ryan LLC, and Don, a project representative, told the commission the project has completed extensive preconstruction work and has been awarded some rounds of Massachusetts state historic tax credits in earlier years. Don said the team expects to begin a construction phase in April that will include pointing brick on the Chestnut Street side and repairs to the Suffolk Street façade.
The presenters said preconstruction work cost about $5.5 million and included removal of unsafe interior plaster, repair of internal roof drains that had been patched over in prior repairs, removal of seats and restoration of decorative elements. Don said two large murals painted in 1941–42 by WPA-era artist Vincent Moragliano were removed earlier and are now restored and in storage; Evergreen Associates handled the mural restoration and has been engaged for decorative plaster reproduction.
A central technical change proposed is a four-foot rear-stage extension into the alley to accommodate “tier A” Broadway touring shows and to provide deeper backstage space. Don and the design team said that moving the stage rearward into a tertiary (alley) elevation preserves the theater’s important interior character — particularly the proscenium and auditorium — a point reinforced by Mary Nastasi, who said the National Park Service and the state historic review consider the auditorium and proscenium the most important character-defining elements of the space.
The project presented three design options to address fire-department access; project staff said engineers and contractors conferred with the fire department and that the department agreed with the engineers’ approach. Project representatives said they have an email from the fire department confirming the approach. Planning-department review is still required: project staff said they aim to present final plans to the planning department by March 25.
Commissioners discussed whether to condition the support letter on subsequent planning or building-department approvals. Several commissioners said a plain letter of support — without caveats — would be useful to meet state tax-credit timing; Mary Nastasi noted the project had an active January application and that the commission’s letter is a required application component. The commission approved a motion to write a letter of support by roll call; the recorded roll-call voters were Commissioner Chris Gaffier, Commissioner Zaida Robert, Commissioner Joseph Mazzola, Commissioner Olivia Moselle, Commissioner Mary Kay O'Connor and Commissioner David Owen (all recorded as voting yes during the roll call on the Victory motion).
Presenters emphasized that the tax-credit process will require repeated returns to the commission for subsequent rounds. “We have already been awarded tax credits,” Mary Nastasi said, and “we will be coming back… for the April deadline and for the August deadline.”
Commissioners asked staff to share the fire-department communication and encouraged applicants to coordinate with the city’s building and planning departments before the planning hearing. The commission’s letter of support will be filed as part of the project’s state historic tax-credit application.
Clarifying details recorded during the presentation: preconstruction expenditures of about $5.5 million were described; the theater’s seating capacity was given as 1,600 (roughly 800 orchestra and 800 in upper levels); the murals by Vincent Moragliano date from 1941–42 and are restored and in storage; the project expects to enter construction-phase work in April and hopes to present to the planning department by March 25.
The commission approved the support letter at the meeting; staff will circulate the fire-department email and any additional materials requested by commissioners.
