Marquee on Main theater project postponed, new event venue in works
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified who is leading the Marquee on Main plan. It is being run by the Screven County Downtown Development Authority. The story has been updated.
The old Department of Juvenile Justice office on Sylvania's North Main Street will still be redeveloped, but will not be used as a theater yet.
Screven County Downtown Development Authority president President Grace Waits said they decided to re-evaluate their Marquee on Main plan, which has been in the works since 2019. One of the biggest issues was the $1,285,000 price tag.
"The amount of money to revitalize the theater was so much that we figured out 'Let's start small, let's get it to where our community can see the beauty of the building, use it, help build up our downtown," Waits said.
Instead, the DDA is pursuing turning the building into a new event venue space. Waits said this would be a singular, open space and described it as a kind of community center that could be used by businesses as meeting space and by families for special occasions. The plans are being designed, with the chamber considering where the best placement would be for a lobby.
Waits said they are looking for a contractor to help with the façade, which is where they want to start with the renovations.
How are downtown business owners reacting to the news? Heather Reddick of Screven Fitness & Wellness Center supported the idea, while Daniel Outler of Antiques and More on Main did not.
"There's really not that many places around here for that kind of thing, so I guess as long as they do it up nice, people would probably rent it out for things," Reddick said.
"An event's only gonna draw one class of people, theater's gonna draw a wide class of people," Outler said. In response to the theater's high price tag, he said, "there are so many grants out there."
Waits said they will be pursuing grants for this project. A price for the event space development has not been confirmed yet, but City Manager Stacy Mathis said via email that the city will direct $35,000 to the DDA to use as it sees fit.
Waits also said that they are not canceling their theater plans, but simply postponing them until they can get the necessary funds.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Marquee on Main theater project postponed, new event venue coming
