Town Hall Arts Center outlines $6–8 million renovation plan, seeks second site to expand programs

Matthew Kemplin, artistic director of Town Hall Arts Center, told the Littleton Arts and Culture Board on Feb. 13 that the nonprofit theater plans a capital campaign to renovate its 1981-converted building interior and is seeking a second site to expand rehearsal, education and performance space.

Kemplin said the campaign currently aims “I believe the target is 6 or 8,000,000,” to fund a full interior renovation that would update the lobby, gallery, concessions and restrooms and improve flow and community spaces. He described the fundraising work as the final step of a Vision 2025 plan started by the theater’s board in 2015.

Town Hall runs five to seven main-stage productions per season, offers multiweek classes and summer camps, and operates an Arts on the Move school-tour program. Kemplin said the theater’s education programs serve more than 5,000 students annually and that the organization hires more than 250 local artists a year, accounting for roughly $300,000 in paid labor. He estimated nearly 40,000 people visit Town Hall each season, producing an estimated $3 million in local economic impact for downtown Littleton businesses.

Board members asked about campaign timing, fundraising strategy and possible locations. Kemplin said the capital campaign for the current building’s remodel is separate from any effort to secure a “site B” for rehearsal and office space; the latter would likely rely on a mix of private fundraising and funds tied to the city’s lodgers tax. When asked how large a second site would need to be, he said, “To get everything we want and need, 16,000 square feet.”

Kemplin said Town Hall has toured potential sites in and outside Littleton and has used a temporary rehearsal space at Aspen Grove for the last three years, but that space will be demolished. He said lease-to-own arrangements would be preferable because the theater lacks capital to buy an additional property now.

Kemplin also described program details and partnerships: the theater conducts limited-engagement productions, collaborates with local groups including Littleton Symphony Orchestra and Voices West, partners with Arapahoe Community College for talkbacks, and devotes one performance per production to raise funds for the Denver Actors Fund. He noted logistical issues currently affecting patrons: the building’s elevator is undergoing a four-to-six week modernization that has required relocating or canceling some programs, and the library’s cultural-pass booking platform is temporarily offline because the vendor went out of business.

Board members offered to assist with fundraising outreach and with identifying potential buildings; they emphasized a preference to keep Town Hall in Littleton if feasible. Kemplin said the theater prefers to remain in Littleton for identity reasons but acknowledged cost constraints could require looking outside the city.

Kemplin invited board members to a donor rehearsal event on Presidents Day and described an upcoming limited-engagement production, Night, Mother, that addresses mental-health themes and runs for two weekends.