Drexel Theatre Renovation Receives $500,00 in Tax Credits

In an announcement released today by the Ohio Development Services Agency, the $2.6 million Drexel Theatre renovation project has been awarded nearly $250,000 from the highly competitive Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program. This award is in addition to the project having already qualified to receive approximately $250,000 in federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.

After being designated to the National Register of Historic Places in June of this year, the Drexel Theatre became eligible to apply for state and federal tax credits to help fund needed improvements to the lobby, theatres, and iconic marquee of the 1930s Art Deco cinema. With renovations anticipated to begin in the spring of 2016, the Friends of the Drexel, in conjunction with the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA), is currently fundraising to secure the remaining capital needed to finance the project.

"Friends of the Drexel, continues to work tirelessly to improve and restore this beloved theatre for future generations," said Richard Stoff, Chairman of the Friends of the Drexel Board. "To be awarded historic tax credits on both a state and federal level further strengthens our conviction that the Drexel is not only a vital historic icon that's worthy of preservation, but one of the nation's premiere art houses for award-winning independent cinema."

The 2016 renovations will complement construction along the west side of the building that added new men's and women's restroom facilities which opened last month. Additionally, in 2012-13, the building's barrel roof and 10-ton HVAC unit were replaced, and all three theatres were converted to state-of-the-art digital projection and sound, allowing for the implementation of a cutting-edge closed captioning system that utilizes holographic technology to project text onto the lenses of specialty glasses provided to hearing-impaired patrons.

"For Bexley, the Drexel is both a valuable economic driver and a sentimental symbol of our rich history," stated Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler. "It is exciting and gratifying to know that our state and federal historic tax entities find its renovation as worthwhile as the Bexley community does."

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