Woodstock starts planning for Opera House renovation

Woodstock took its first steps toward overhauling the Opera House, which would be the first major renovation of the building in roughly 20 years.

The City Council approved a contract at its meeting on Tuesday with Chicago-based DRL Group Inc., which will begin working on a plan about how best to approach modernizing the building, according to background material from the city.

The contract was passed Tuesday with no discussion.

Creating the plan is expected to take about three months, Woodstock Executive Director of Business Development Danielle Gulli said. She said the company will come in and look at plans for the building currently on file and see what is feasible moving forward.

The work could include remodeling of Stage Left Café, installing new seating and stage floor, renovating the backstage, adding a third floor and upgrading lighting.

“We need to move the dressing room,” Gulli said. “Right now, it’s kind of a weird setup the way it is.”

While the list is long, it’s not known yet how far the city’s budget would be able to go, especially as construction costs rise across the country, Gulli said. In addition to helping the city sort out its priorities for the building, the plan will lay out the best way to approach the renovations.

“What are the amenities? What are the services we need to be offering?” Gulli said. “How should those be positioned and laid out in the building?”

Gulli also noted DRL’s portfolio, which has included restoring historic theaters all across the country. Some of those include the Varsity Theater in Evanston, the Tivoli Theatre in Chicago and the Coronado Performing Arts Center in Rockford, city documents show.

After the plan is sorted out, construction could start in as soon as six months, Gulli said. From that point, work would wrap up between 12 and 18 months later.

The Opera House was opened in 1890 and didn’t see a major upgrade until 1976, when work was done to modernize the building, according to the Opera House’s website. It saw more work in the early 2000s, which was when Stage Left Café was introduced.

Both city and Opera House officials have said they hope the newest round of renovations will set up the Opera House for decades to come.

The plan to renovate the Opera House was sped up by nearly $3 million the city was awarded from the state as part of its Rebuild Illinois’ Downtown and Main Streets Capital Program.

That money brought Woodstock’s total budget for its downtown projects to $4.5 million, which will be used on both the Opera House and the city’s historic Square.

“We’ve got one opportunity to reimagine what we want to do,” Gulli said. “We’re super excited about it.”