Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Michigan Regional Theater to Renovate Historic School Building

  • By Matt Jones
  • 03/02/21

The Encore Theatre Company, a nonprofit theater group in Dexter, Mich., is raising money to renovate its new performance space—a historic school building downtown.

The theater group purchased the old school house, known as the Copeland building, from Dexter Community Schools last year for a price of $1 million. Now, it is seeking to fundraise about that same amount to convert the space into a modern performance venue.

“Our new building is evolving into a state-of-the-art theater center, where the finest talent of southeast Michigan, Broadway, and other top industry professionals will come together to produce and develop extraordinary shows,” said Daniel Cooney, the group’s co-founder and artistic director. “This is also an opportunity to breathe new life into a historic building, and to provide musical theater training to the next generation of artists in our region.”

The Copeland building was built in 1857 as the Dexter Union Schoolhouse. It was rebuilt in 1887 and saw major renovations in 1936. Already featuring a rather sizable auditorium, the final renovations will convert the 20,000-square-foot building to include public meeting spaces, classrooms for arts education programs, a lobby, a café, and a bar.

Encore has already received $500,000 from the Bernard L. Maas Foundation, as well as significant contributions from its patrons. It’s currently in the process of raising an additional $1.3 million, which it hopes to have by the end of 2021, in a capital campaign called “OUR NEXT STAGE.” It’s soliciting from local individuals, organizations, and businesses for tax-deductible donations. The group also notes that “naming rights for the building, lobby, entrance, café and bar, as well as other areas within the facility” are still up for grabs.

“This renovation will create an expanded, public arts destination in downtown Dexter, attracting tens of thousands to local businesses and the surrounding community annually through professional musical theater productions and an active arts education program for youth of all ages,” said the Encore Theatre Company in a statement.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Houston-Area High School Breaks Ground on 117,000SF Multi-Use Facility

    North Shore Senior High School, part of Galena Park ISD in Houston, Texas, recently broke ground on a new multi-use facility for student extracurriculars, according to a news release. The North Shore Multi-Use Facility will include dedicated practice and training space for the school’s athletics and fine arts programs.

  • Round Rock ISD Completes New Early College High School

    Round Rock ISD near Austin, Texas, recently announced that construction is complete on a new, 46,500-square-foot campus for Early College High School, according to a news release. The new facility will allow the school’s students and staff to move from portables into a permanent building and increase its enrollment to 500.

  • Full Sail University Announces First Student Housing Facility

    Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., recently announced that development has begun on its first student housing community, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Nvision Development for construction and long-term management of the facility, which will stand five stories and have the capacity for more than 570 beds.

  • Wisconsin District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    The School District of La Crosse in La Crosse, Wis., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff of two existing schools, according to local news. Funding for the school comes from a $53-million referendum approved in 2024.