On a rainy November 4 afternoon, residents of the Grove Park neighborhood gathered under a white canopy outside the aging theater to celebrate the start of a major renovation. The 85‑year‑old building, which has served as a movie house and pawnshop, will soon reopen as the Grove Park Performing & Cultural Arts Center.
Community partnership drives the project
The Grove Park Foundation, which has spent the past nine years raising funds and forging partnerships, purchased the property as part of a larger parcel for the Columbia Canopy apartments. When staff realized they owned a dormant neighborhood theater, the Fox Theater stepped in to conduct a historic study and helped shape the vision for an arts center.
Leigh Burns, director of community partnerships at the Fox Theater, explained that changes in the movie industry forced many small neighborhood cinemas to close. “What’s poignant today, for all of us, is that it survived,” Burns said, adding that the new center will be “a home for the Grove Park community, and for all Atlantans.”
Remembering a difficult past
Burns also acknowledged the theater’s segregationist origins. When the venue opened in 1941, “White residents sat downstairs, and African American residents sat upstairs.” The foundation and its partners say that history will be honored while the space is transformed into an inclusive cultural hub.
Gavin McGuire, executive director of the Grove Park Foundation and longtime resident, noted that the theater’s opening came at a time when many of his neighbors could not participate in such opportunities. “We’re grateful to see how history’s turned and how we bring truth and power to this building,” he said.
Funding and city support
The renovation is estimated at roughly $5.1 million, with some reports citing up to $5.5 million. Major contributors include Chick‑fil‑A and Bank of America, each donating $1 million, the Fox Theater providing $240,000 in grants, and Invest Atlanta contributing a $1 million grant from the Perry Bolton Tax Allocation District (TAD). TADs are a central tool of Mayor Andre Dickens’ Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative, which directs future property‑tax revenue back into the neighborhoods that generate it.
Mayor Dickens praised the project, saying it demonstrates the NRI at work: “We use our TADs and corridors like this to reinvest future property tax directly into the very communities that are generating it.”
Debt‑free approach keeps programming affordable
Rather than taking a construction loan that could have accelerated the timeline by five years, the foundation chose a debt‑free model. Without loan repayments, the center can rely on rental income and grant funding to keep community programming affordable.
The venue is slated to open in about a year. Already, local residents are planning its use. Pastor Saint Claire of Bankhead, who runs Restoration Studios with the nonprofit Community Renaissance, said the center will serve the young people he mentors in music, podcasting and media. “We gotta have space for all,” he said, emphasizing the importance of an inclusive arts venue given its segregated past.
Broader neighborhood revitalization
The theater renovation is part of a larger wave of Grove Park Foundation projects. Across the street sit KIPP Woodson Park Academy and the YMCA Early Learning Center, both built by the foundation in 2020. Karen Rose, director of development with the foundation, recalled that the community thrived 20‑30 years ago but has lost banking and food services in recent decades. The new arts center, she said, reflects the equity the foundation is committed to and will serve the entire Atlanta region.
With its historic roots, generous donor support and city‑wide backing, the Grove Park Performing & Cultural Arts Center promises to become a vibrant gathering place that honors the past while looking forward to a more inclusive future for all Atlantans.
Original reporting: SaportaReport — read the source article.
