Friday, October 19, 2012

Capitol Theatre plans proceed even without tax credits

Plans to renovate the Capitol Theatre and to build a Center for Dance on its west side counted heavily on receipt of $6 million in federal tax credits to round out financing for the $33.4 million arts center.

But the federal money did not come through — at least not this year.

Down but not defeated, Salt Lake County and its partners at Ballet West have devised an alternate approach to continuing the project, one that expects to corral those "New Market Tax Credits" in the next federal funding cycle — if Congress extends the program later this year.

Since the theater already has been scheduled for closure between June and December 2013, and it’s too late now to try booking anything there during that span, the partners want to go ahead with the renovation work in the 1913-vintage theater itself.

By the time that’s done for "The Nutcracker" in December of 2013, the county and Ballet West expect to have landed the desired tax credits. Those funds then could be applied to building Ballet West’s long anticipated Jessie Eccles Quinney Center for Dance.

The five-story structure will house the ballet troupe as well as a dance academy for up to 600 dance students. Salt Lake Tribune