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Town Hall Arts Center outlines $6–8 million interior campaign, seeks second site
Summary
Matthew Kepler, artistic director of Town Hall Arts Center, told the Littleton Arts and Culture Board on Feb. 13 the theater is launching a capital campaign to renovate its 1981-updated space and is seeking a second site for rehearsal, offices and a possible black-box theater.
Matthew Kepler, artistic director of Town Hall Arts Center, presented the organization's programming, economic impact and facility plans to the Littleton Arts and Culture Board at its Feb. 13 meeting.
Kepler said Town Hall produces five to seven main-stage productions per season, employs hundreds of local contractors across productions each year and serves more than 5,000 students annually through classes and school touring programs. He described the organization as “an anchor for a lot of local Littleton businesses,” estimating about $3 million in annual local economic impact tied to attendees visiting Main Street restaurants and shops after events.
Kepler said the nonprofit has begun a quiet capital campaign to renovate the interior of its downtown theater — work he said would update bathrooms, lobby, concessions and the gallery. “The next step is a capital campaign … the target is 6 or 8,000,000, in order to completely renovate the inside of our space,” Kepler said. He added that the campaign’s funds are intended for interior remodel work already documented in architectural drawings produced before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kepler also said Town Hall is seeking a second physical site — a so-called “site B” — to house rehearsal space, offices and classrooms so the organization can expand education offerings and add a small black-box theatre. He said a full buildout to meet the organization’s stated needs would be about 16,000 square feet and that lease-to-own arrangements would be preferable because the theater lacks capital to buy an additional building upfront. Kepler noted that because of the way local tourism (lodgers) tax rules work, funds that come from that tax generally must be spent in Littleton, which constrains where such a second site could be located.
Kepler asked the board for help primarily in fundraising and in identifying possible buildings. He invited board members to a donors’ rehearsal event on the Monday following the meeting, offering board members a behind-the-scenes look at an upcoming limited-engagement production.
No formal action was taken by the board on Town Hall’s request during the Feb. 13 meeting.
