The theater at Loretto Heights in Denver's southwest neighborhood of Harvey Park may soon become Denver's newest old concert hall. A contract worth almost $10 million cleared the City of Denver's Land Use, Transportation and Infrastructure committee Tuesday as part of a larger $50 million redevelopment of the area.
Known as the May Bonfils Stanton Center of Performing Arts, the theater originally opened in 1963 to great fanfare. In 2021, Denver voters approved referred question 2A, which dedicated $30 million to its restoration. The question was part of a larger $450 million bond package, and five ballot questions, that benefited 88 cultural organizations, libraries and youth facilities.
An additional $20 million will be sought at a later date, to purchase the nearby library building, bringing the total project cost to $50 million. Though the theater was added in 1963, the Loretto Heights story began more than 200 years ago and has always served to educate.
"When the nuns had this built, it was built as a curricular facility. So it's not just a theater where you come and put on performances," District 2 Councilman Kevin Flynn said. "As a community accessible facility, I think it is much more meaningful than just opening up another space where people can rent and put on a show."
Flynn said there are teaching spaces, active rehearsal spaces, a sprung floor for ballet and a secondary small theatre in a lower level.
In 1888, Mother Pancratia Bonfils wanted to start a new learning academy, far from the downtown of bustling Denver. The campus grew quickly and despite a financial scare in 1894, the Great Depression and World War II, Loretto Heights College — as it was known — remained a Denver staple.
The college closed its doors in 1989, becoming Teikyo Loretto Heights University and later Colorado Heights University. The campus is currently used by Denver Public Schools, housing DSST College View, Summit Academy and Southwest Early College. Some of the original buildings, now included on the National Register of Historic Places, have been preserved or repurposed by land owner Westside Investment Partners. Westside, which has been in the news for its plan to redevelop the former Park Hill Golf Course land, bought the land in 2018.
Thrive Home Builders bought about 25 acres of land on the north and west side and is building 322 homes. Pancratia Hall became a 72-unit affordable housing complex.
The 1,000-seat theater has been unused since the Colorado Symphony Orchestra played there in 2018. After rehabilitation, the theater will fill a gap in mid-sized arts facilities in the metro area. Denver Arts and Venues Executive Director Ginger White Burnetti called it a "cultural hub" of southwest Denver, hosting graduations, quinceañeras and other events.
"We learned a lot through (community and public engagements). There are certainly arts organizations that very much need space for performance and rehearsal ... Perhaps their circumstances have changed and they found other locations to perform in," Burnetti said. "We certainly hope they'll be interested in coming back to the community."
Denver Arts and Venues selected Perkins Eastman Architects after a competitive bidding process. Eastman Architects has a studio, Pfeiffer Partners, who Director of Strategic Projects Mark Najarian said have "niche experience" doing theater renovations — particularly those on college campuses.
As the middle child of five, Flynn described himself as introverted. He recalled his time growing up with community theater, crediting it with helping him out of his shell. He also credited the arts in general as being a big part of what got him to where he is, and hopes the investment does the same for children in his, and nearby districts.
"I can't help but believe that there are a lot of boys and girls in southwest Denver for whom performing arts will be a life changing experience," he said. "This is going to be a place where people can gather, and really be the hub of Southwest Denver."