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Billings weighs paying insurance deductible and negotiating sale to ArtHouse after Babcock Theater ceiling collapse
Summary
After the May 2025 ceiling collapse that shuttered the Babcock Theater, staff presented condition assessments with high-priority code-repair estimates of $1.4M–$1.7M and total potential costs of $3.5M–$4.3M; ArtHouse expressed willingness to negotiate a purchase, and staff recommended covering immediate insurance deductible and pursuing a negotiated sale.
City staff laid out options Monday for the shuttered, city-owned Babcock Theater after a May 2025 ceiling collapse left the facility unusable and the ArtHouse operator seeking a path forward.
Facilities manager Tricia May summarized a condition assessment by Cushing Terrell that divided work into three priorities: high-priority code and safety items ($1.4M–$1.7M), deferred maintenance/operational improvements ($1.0M–$1.3M), and potential future upgrades. The combined low-to-high range across all phases was…
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