Construction is well underway as well as the final stages of fundraising to complete the Park Theatre in Jaffrey.
The arts center to come began construction at 19 Main Street on the last day of 2018 and has a target opening in 2020.
The steel framing for the walls and roof are nearly complete, Steve Jackson, CEO of the Park Theatre, said Wednesday.
“The structural steel has all been put in place, and very shortly we’re going to be pouring the floors,” Jackson said.
The theatre is continuing its fundraising campaign, including selling sponsorships for the 365 theater seats, to complete the goals for decorating the interior of the building and theater equipment.
The theater is planned to have two auditoriums that would present both film and stage productions. Jackson said he’s been attending meetings with surrounding towns, school districts and social clubs to discuss future programming at the theater and the options for the community using the asset.
“One of the foundations of the theater is we’re going to make it an affordable space, for people to do theatrical or musical productions in a professional space,” Jackson said.
He has also approached faculty at Franklin Pierce University and Keene State College about participating in theater or film workshops offered at the theater.
The River Street Theatre, a subsidiary of the Park Theatre, has been taken over as a construction office, and won’t be offering its usual programming this summer, Jackson said. The theater will still be holding an occasional event, such as its all-day cartoon screening during Jaffrey’s River Fest, and a film screening on Veterans Day, but for the most part, Jackson said, the focus will be on the construction of the Park Theatre, with the goal of being complete and ready to open in the spring of 2020.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.