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The heritage building home to Regina’s Globe Theatre is getting $28.9 million towards renovations, thanks to funding from the federal, provincial and municipal governments.
The revitalizing project includes addressing water infiltration, replacing and fire-proofing structural columns in the basement, repairing and repointing masonry, along with upgrading the mechanical and electrical systems.
At the funding announcement on Friday, Globe Theatre’s former longtime artistic director, Ruth Smillie, said “it’s a dream come true.”
For years, Smillie said staff have felt the brisk draft of the Saskatchewan winters creep through the walls due to thinning insulation and have hauled props up flights of stairs because there wasn’t a working elevator. She noted there’s also a bat colony living in the 113-year-old building that many are looking forward to bid farewell to.
“We have expert bat catchers on our staff — we have the gear, the gloves, the rest of it. We even have little boxes to put them in. It’s kind of a joke, but it’s not,” Smillie explained. “It’s a really substandard place to work in.”
Some things patrons may notice first, Smillie mentioned, is that the theatre will be accessible.
Mayor Michael Fougere said revitalizing Globe Theatre was an infrastructure priority for the city.
“This is an old, dilapidated building and it’s behind its natural life, so we’re just so excited on so many different levels,” Fougere said.
He noted it’ll be monumental for the downtown area and the local economy as a whole.
“It’s important that we have an iconic building fixed up, rejuvenated and to preserve its heritage value, but the Globe itself is why people come downtown and (with the renovations) we’ll attract more people and have a greater capacity for people to be here,” Fougere explained.
Over the next six months, Smillie said they’ll start the designing phase. After that, the renovations begin.
During the two-year revitalization, Globe Theatre will relocate to a temporary space that’s yet to be determined.
