By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer
For years, local folks eagerly anticipating the rebirth of the old Devon Theater have been left staring at a blank screen and clinging to a flicker of hope.
But with construction on the Northeast’s last remaining old-time movie house now underway by contractors for the Mayfair Community Development Corporation, the Devon saga finally looks ready for a classic Hollywood ending.
CDC officials plan a spring 2009 grand opening for the new Devon Theater of Performing Arts following the completion of a $3.5 million renovation project that kicked off this month.
“I have nightmares right now, but I feel in a couple of months, we’re going to be very happy,” Brian King, executive director of the CDC, said in an interview with the Northeast Times last week.
“We’re very confident it’s going to get built. Right now, we’re worried about the first year that it’s open,” added Reese Hartey, the CDC board chairman.
The CDC, which will continue to own the property and hire management companies to oversee the day-to-day operations of the theater and its adjacent commercial storefronts, expects to book a wide range of entertainment, business and civic activities.
The 500-seat venue is on the corner of Frankford Avenue and Stirling Street.
It will be capable of hosting professional stage productions, community theater, live musical performances, business gatherings, community festivals, neighborhood meetings, and of course, movie showings.
In conjunction with the building overhaul, the CDC is also coordinating $2 million in improvements to the Frankford Avenue streetscape from Cottman Avenue south to Harbison Avenue. That work will begin in September or October.
When combined with the $2.4 million already invested by the CDC in acquisition and pre-construction costs on the theater and six adjacent storefronts, the total investment in the community project should be around $8 million.
“This is probably one of the biggest capital projects in Mayfair ever and one of the biggest in the Northeast in a long time,” King said.
The CDC, which has rehabilitated numerous residential and commercial properties in the neighborhood since its founding in 2000, is financing the Devon project through loans, along with state and federal grants.
“It’s a cool, sexy project that’s going to be really neat,” Hartey said. “The ripple effect to Mayfair and the Northeast in general is going to be huge.”
Their objective with the project is to preserve the 1940s-era theater as an example of local history with its traditional styling while also developing it as a modern, versatile and highly functional community resource.
The shell of the old theater is the same, but just about everything inside of it will be new or newly restored. Even the roof is totally new.
There will be new electric, heating and air conditioning systems in the old theater, which was one of several of its kind in the neighborhood during the ’50s and ’60s before shopping-mall-based multiplexes began luring moviegoers away from single-screen houses.
During the hard times of the ’70s and beyond, the theater’s operators resorted to showing second-run features and even adult films, earning the place the nickname “the Dirty Devon.”
The new utilities in the theater will also include wireless Internet service.
The new Devon will feature state-of-the-art video, audio and lighting systems, as well as an extended performance stage. It will be designed as a “plug and play” facility so that visiting acts won’t have to bother setting up their own amplifiers, stage lights or other equipment. That will help the management book multiple events on any particular day.
“It’s going to have a quick turnover,” Hartey said.
The former balcony area will have “flex” space with additional seating, a multi-purpose meeting room, offices and dressing rooms for performers.
Concessions will be sold on a mobile station to meet the specific needs of each particular event.
The adjacent storefronts also feature all new utilities and are designed as empty shells that can be easily converted to the needs of future tenants.
The CDC officials have received dozens of serious inquiries from businesses seeking to take leases in the strip.
“We’re now scanning them to see what meets the needs of the theater and won’t compete with other local businesses,” King said.
Ideally, the CDC is seeking uses that will complement the theater, such as a dessert shop, a coffee shop, a dance studio or dance apparel shop or an art gallery.
“We’re looking at a trickle-down effect. The theater solidifies the block,” King said.
The streetscape project is expected to complement the vision of a fresh new entertainment and business district. There will be decorative street lamps and pedestrian walks that will also help control traffic flow and promote safety.
The rehabilitation will extend to a community garden at Cottman and Frankford avenues that features new shade trees, planters, benches and a “Welcome to Mayfair” sign.
“We consider that the gateway to our neighborhood,” Hartey said.
Local families will be able to put their own personal stamps on the project in the form of individualized tiles that will be used to decorate the lobby. In exchange for a modest fee, parents can have their child paint a 4-inch by 4-inch tile.
“It will be a chance for people to come there and feel they own a piece of the Devon,” King said.
Though the tile project is not expected to be a true fund-raiser for the project, an Oct. 10 golf outing to be hosted by the CDC will be used to offset the costs of the theater. It will be held at Willowbrook Country Club in Moorestown, N.J. The cost per golfer is $150. Group rates and sponsorship opportunities are available.
For information about the MCDC Golf Classic, call 215-332-4414 or e-mail briank@mayfaircdc.org ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com