New downtown SLO theater gets major funding boost. What the money will go to
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- Hind Foundation awards SLO REP $750,000 toward tech for its new theater project.
- SLO REP has raised over $20 million of $21.5 million construction goal to date.
- New facility will feature two theaters and draw 50,000 annual patrons to SLO.
Once the new SLO Repertory Theatre is built, audiences will experience new, state-of-the-art lighting, sound and other technical aspects to the performances, thanks to a $750,000 Hind Foundation grant announced Thursday.
The grant was to be revealed at Good Morning SLO, the city Chamber of Commerce’s monthly coffee klatch breakfast.
The theater’s campaign to raise an estimated $21.5 million to build the new 12,000-square-foot facility is “very close,” according to Kevin Harris, the theater group’s managing artistic director.
“Over the last 14 months, SLO Rep has raised more than $3.5 million in cash and pledges bringing SLO Rep’s total fundraising to well over $20 million,” he said.
“However, a significant unknown variable is the impact of the federal government’s tariff policies. We won’t know the full impact for several months,” Harris said. “Nonetheless, we are confident that we will have the funds needed to break ground as soon as the parking garage is completed early next year.”
That $52 million garage, currently being built on the same parcel of land at Nipomo, Monterey and Palm streets, is a crucial component of the theater design.
The nonprofit regional theater group has long been a key part of efforts to develop a cultural arts district in the city — including plans to build a multi-story theater complex adjacent to the parking structure.
SLO Rep, which was founded as San Luis Obispo Little Theatre in 1947, has operated out of its current location at 888 Morro St. in San Luis Obispo for 30 years. It is considered to be one of the country’s oldest regional theaters.
It outgrew that site long ago.
The new venue will include two theaters: a 215-seat main stage for musicals, comedies and dramas, and a 100-seat “black box” theater with flexible seating to showcase new works, staged readings and late-night cabaret entertainment.
SLO Rep expects to draw 50,000 patrons annually to the new venue and the area, according to a news release.
The Hind Foundation funds community-based projects and programs throughout the Central Coast, focusing on music and visual arts, land and nature conservation, plant and wildlife protection, ecosystem conservation and historical landmark restoration.
Visit the foundation’s website for details.
