Once renovations are complete next year, the venue will have two theaters with 250 seats downstairs and 50-55 seats upstairs, said Jason Reimer, creative director and co-owner of Aviation Cinemas, the operator for the Texas Theater and Texas Fine Arts Theater.
“For the Denton community, [and] the surrounding North Texas community, this is going to be a very big deal for people that are into that type of art form,” Reimer said.
The overview
In addition to the two theater areas, Reimer said there will be a boutique bar that will overlook the downtown square.
“We are recreating this theater [now] as it was created in the ‘70s,” Reimer said.
The Texas Fine Arts Theater building was acquired in 2018 by Northbridge, the developer for the project, after sitting vacant since the early 1980s. Reimer said that the improvements will touch every part of the theater, including addressing significant water damage and structural issues within the building.
Under an economic agreement with the city of Denton, the private developer is required to invest at least $9.1 million in improvements while also meeting certain appraised values above the 2023 value, Assistant City Manager Christine Taylor said. The city’s economic incentives, which were approved in April 2024, are worth around $1.6 million.
More details
Of the incentives, $1.1 million will help cover infrastructure improvements to the theater, Taylor said. The full value of the grant will be issued when a certificate of occupancy is issued for the Texas Fine Arts Theater and the venue opens. Up to $544,503 in grants will be awarded to the project to cover initial costs, Taylor said.
Both grants have a 10-year term, according to city documents. Taylor said the $544,503 in grants is the maximum value that can be received for the project and is projected to be paid out over seven years. The annual grant amount is based on actual performance of the venue.
With the redevelopment of the theater, there was an opportunity to restore a historic structure that has been vacant since 1982, Taylor said.
“The building had so much meaning to the community,” Taylor said. “Denton is known for our cultural art scene, and this is just another piece to amplify that.”
The impact
The theater is expected to be a multiuse art facility that can host film screenings, live performances and other art productions, Reimer said.
“It enables these theaters to be used in many, many ways, sometimes simultaneously, which is the best way to get use of these theaters and keep them open,” Reimer said. “Our business model is to use these theaters to kind of offer as many things as possible at any given moment and really use the buildings to the full capability.”
The proof of concept behind the Texas Fine Arts Theater is the Texas Theater in Dallas, Reimer added, which also offers a variety of experiences.
Taylor said the renovated theater should help enhance existing festivals, such as the Thin Line Festival and Denton Black Film Festival, while also drawing more people downtown to shop and eat.
“It's going to provide an additional tourism draw that will generate new activity and revenue in the heart of the city,” Taylor said.
Going forward
Reimer said the renovated Texas Fine Arts Theater is expected to open next summer.
“The vision will be just to restore it as much as we can, and build it as much as we can to what it once was, and then add some modern technology to it,” Reimer said. “After that, it's really going to be years of interaction with the community to make it what it really becomes in the future.”
