Members of Torn Space Theater held a groundbreaking ceremony on Friday to mark the second phase of renovations.
The theater has been in partnership with Adam Mickiewicz Library since 2000 to redevelop the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood. Torn Space artistic director Dan Shanahan hopes the theater’s presence in the community will raise greater awareness about the importance of the historic area to the city.
“We have had a long-term commitment to this neighborhood since the year 2000, and now we’re here to stay with these improvements,” Shanahan said. “What we’re hoping this is doing is signaling to the wider community, both public and private sectors, that the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood is worth investing in. It has some incredible assets and if we can start to get a greater synergy in this neighborhood, we can start to see an extremely positive change in this area.”
Last December, the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation awarded Torn Space $310,000 to finish exterior renovations of its performance space in the library. The phase two renovations sport a price tag of $1.2 million.