The developers who purchased the former Opera House in downtown Belfast last year are slowly moving ahead with plans to restore it as a performing arts space.
Since Alex and Kendra Brigham bought the Hayford Block property that includes the Opera House just over a year ago, they have been making designs for the project and forming a team to complete it, according to their property manager, Earl MacKenzie. In total, they estimate the work could take two and a half to three years, meaning it could be completed in 2027 or 2028.
If the restoration happens, the Opera House would join several other midcoast arts spaces that have undergone big changes in the last few years, including the Colonial Theatre in Belfast, which reopened late last year — after it closed in 2022 — and had to make its own safety upgrades.
The Brighams, who have spent the past few years buying and redeveloping Belfast properties, expect to remove several apartments in the Opera House building to make space for a lobby to the venue. They are pursuing the project with MacKenzie and his wife Bonnie.
But they are not planning many other major changes to the four-story structure, which is at the corner of Beaver, Church and Main streets. It has more than a dozen other tenants, including Left Bank Books, Belfast Barber Shop and Opera House Video.
MacKenzie declined to discuss how they are funding the project.
“We have long hoped that someone would restore the Opera House to its former grandeur where it could serve again as an important stitch weaving the community we love even tighter together,” Alex Brigham said in a statement. “This is so precious considering we increasingly live in a time when many communities are fraying apart.”
When the building came up for sale, Brigham said, “we realized that our families could bring both the financial stability and technical skills to make that restoration possible.”
The Opera House itself sits in the upper stories of the building and, before it stopped hosting events decades ago, once had seating for 1,300 guests, but renovations would likely reduce that number. Among other things, the new owners will need to install a fire sprinkler system and make the space more accessible to people with disabilities before it could reopen as a performance venue. They also plan to replace its flooring, ceilings, and performance space, and they may add a grand chandelier after seeing one in another theater.
“Realistically speaking, the amount of work that has to be done, structural … the whole back wall of the building has to be redone,” MacKenzie said. “We’ve been tearing a few things apart, but we’re working on the architecture. We’re doing architectural prints.”
For inspiration, the Brighams have been scouting out Opera House-style venues across the region. They hope to preserve the historical charm of the original building while making the safety and accessibility upgrades.
During a tour of the space on Friday, MacKenzie said they have so far done a hazardous waste assessment, dismantled parts of the former balcony seating and drawn up plans for the changes. They are in part considering heating, central air, lighting and sound upgrades.
They’re also making plans to demolish and replace some of the building’s original backstage structures, while the lower level of the Opera House could potentially be outfitted with a green room or dressing room, MacKenzie said.
Once it’s finished, the space will be available for various purposes, including as a performance venue for musicians and other performing artists touring the midcoast.
The team working on the restoration includes architects, a construction firm, a structural engineer, a sound engineer and a historical consultant.
The Brighams have purchased several other Belfast properties since 2018, including a lot at the corner of Main and Cross streets, the former Logos building at Main and Church streets, the former Em Bee Cleaners on Church Street and 132 Church St., where Edward Jones is located.
