BY MARK SKERTIC
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Emery Theatre could soon be turned over to a community group that would renovate it and turn part into apartments.
The plan was outlined this week for the building's owners, the University of Cincinnati board of trustees.
"This is a bona fide attempt to give it a whirl and make something happen," Dale McGirr, vice president for finance, told trustees. A coalition of arts supporters, developers and preservationists hopes to give the trustees a plan this fall for how they would finance rehabbing and reopening the building. The Emery Center Corp., a non-profit group, is developing the plan and will be looking for a developer this summer, said Beth Sullebarger, executive director of the Cincinnati Preservation Association.
The goals outlined for trustees include restoring the historic theater in Over-the-Rhine to a 1,350- to 1,950-seat auditorium. The adjoining building that was the onetime home of the Ohio College of Applied Science would house commercial development, including office space and loft and one- and two-bedroom apartments, and parking.
Efforts to restore the Emery go back more than a decade. That effort was derailed when the arts community's attention was focused on building the Aronoff Center. Fund-raising was difficult, said Thomas Buck, a member of the Emery Center Corp.'s board.
"What's different this time is breaking it into two pieces," he said. Estimates include about $13 million to restore the theater, $8 million for the commercial development and another $3 million for exterior work.
This is the second time in recent months UC has detailed plans to turn over a historic building to a non-profit group. The university recently accepted an agreement with a group working to save the observatory in Mount Lookout.
Those historic buildings and telescope had outlived their usefulness to UC.
Trustees agreed to sign a long-term lease turning the landmark over to a non-profit organization that is working on educational programs and opening an astronomy museum.
The Emery costs the university about $250,000 a year to maintain, but it's used primarily for storage, Mr. McGirr told trustees. Built in 1911, the historic theater was donated to the Ohio Mechanic's Institute by Mary Emery.
Over time, the institute became UC's College of Applied Science.
