Here are the headlines Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe read on-air this week:
Fine Arts Theater to reopen with a Denton flair
Backers of the Fine Arts Theater have assembled a $7.5 million package to renovate and reopen the building, which has slumbered on the Square since the 1980s.
With historic tax credits and a $1.6 million tax incentive from the city, the developers plan to open the building in summer 2025. Then, they’ll hand operations to the same group that’s managing the Texas Theatre in Dallas, headed by Barak Epstein and Jason Reimer.
Reimer said that the Dallas program actually has Denton roots, and that will be part of the DNA of the new Fine Arts Theater.
Jason Reimer: “Much of what we do in Dallas and at the Oak Cliff theater, the Texas Theatre, is actually based on the old venue in Denton—that I happened to be friends with one of the guys that owned it. So there was an old venue that was called the Argo, that in the old days in the late 90s in Denton, that I know Rob Peters that used to own it and operate it. And he gave me an idea a long time ago that we do at the Texas Theatre.
“So I book things, Barak [Epstein] books things, several of the employees that work with him book things. But one of the main component is, we have accessibility to the community to involve themselves with booking as well. So there’s a curatorial aspect that’s unpredictable in every community—that I don’t know whose going to do it yet in Denton. I have a kind of have an idea who might do it. There are a handful of people that might do it from the film school, or TWU, or any number of other sources. But they’re going to culminate as we get the theater going.
“So what will happen when it’s open, is it will be kind of a mélange of new movies, movies that we think are cool, and repertory events, things like that, live events, things that are touring events that we’re going to bring through town. But also the community aspect—some clubs, some series, things that people that come up with in that community are going to give it a fingerprint that’s specifically for Denton—that’s something that I can’t really predict.
“I just have to make the housing for it and then open it up to community and they’re going to put their fingerprints on it and then it’s going to be the theater that it will become. I can just make the recipe for it up front. They’re going to make the whole thing happen.”
The building will hold three theaters, including a 200-seat theater on the ground floor, a 30-seat theater on the mezzanine, and a 50-seat theater on the top floor.
While the project scored high on the city’s criteria for tax incentives, the city staff also sought an underwriter’s review to structure the deal for success and protect the city’s interests.
Earlier this month, the City Council approved a two-part agreement to help with construction and to underwrite operations for several years.
In addition, the staff said that the building’s façade is eligible for a rehabilitation grant. That will come from another city program that supports beautification projects on the Square, and that grant request was coming separately.
More information at cityofdenton.com.
TWU, Bezos break ground for community preschool
TWU will celebrate a groundbreaking for its new community daycare center with officials from Bezos Academy at 11 a.m. Thursday. The preschool will open next year at 1820 Frame Street. More information at twu.edu.
Fry Street Fair returns
And speaking of Denton creativity, the Fry Street Fair returns this weekend with a local line up of live bands Saturday and Sunday. More information at thefrystreetfair.org.
Traffic detours on Hickory, Bell
We’ll leave you with a couple of heads up for local motorists. Beginning at 4 a.m. Saturday, the city will close Fry Street, Avenue A and a portion of Hickory Street for the fair. The area will remain closed to traffic until 6 a.m. Monday.
City officials also announced that they should be able to partially re-open Bell Avenue by Friday. They closed the southern end of the thoroughfare to install a new water line at Prairie Street. More information at cityofdenton.com.
Early voting underway
Early voting for the local races on the May 4 election is underway now through Tuesday, April 30. Information on voting times and locations at votedenton.gov.
Local News currently airs each Wednesday at 10 a.m. on KUZU 92.9 FM-LP in Denton, Texas, with rebroadcasts airing at 3 p.m. Thursday, and 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday. The Weekend Edition of Local News airs each Saturday at 4 p.m., with rebroadcasts at 9 p.m. and midnight; and 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday.
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On air since 2017, KUZU is Denton’s only volunteer-run, nonprofit community radio station. You can learn more and listen online at kuzu.fm.
Local News and Weekend Edition scripts are published on Substack. Subscribe for free at peggyheinkelwolfe.substack.com and follow live microblogging of Local News on Mastodon @phwolfe940@denton.social. Peggy is an award-winning, veteran journalist and a Denton County resident since 1993.