# Theater Conversion



## imastagekid (Jun 4, 2012)

I have recently started a theater company and after looking into it, were thinking that the 10 grand a year we would spend on renting the theater at the local high school for the two weeks of the show may be roughly the same price and much more difficult than leasing a 4200 sq ft warehouse for 700 dollars a month and converting that into a studio theater. We just don’t really know how to gather all of the information we need to gather ti make that assessment. We are fairly new to the theater running business and know there are many expenses that we are missing. I'd give you more information to work with but I have no idea what information you need.


----------



## gcpsoundlight (Jun 4, 2012)

The trouble with that idea is mainly OH&S issues. Converting a space will create access problems, fire issues, etc. Also, not having facilities like lighting bars, patch lines, audio patches etc. will add costs to the installation.


----------



## museav (Jun 4, 2012)

There are likely to be several components to it. One is the property. Does the zoning allow such use or might a variance be required? Can the property support parking as required by code for the envisioned capacity?

Another aspect is the building itself. What changes might be required to make the space work and be code and ADA compliant for the new use? As Gerard noted, depending on the past use and what you intend this could be a minor effort or a very significant one. It could potentially include supplementing or replacing HVAC, plumbing and/or electrical systems, possibly adding sprinklers, addressing exiting and accessibility and so on. And what modification might the lease allow or exclude?

Adding to that may be financing. You may be able to lease for $700 a month but what financial requirements would there be to get that lease, how long a lease is it, what are the terms to break the lease and so on? How will you finance any renovation or adaptation construction costs? What utility costs are included or excluded from the monthly lease cost? What about insurance, has anyone looked at the costs for that?

And through all of this keep in mind that $10,000 per year is $833.33 per month, so if the base lease cost is $700 per month then you could incur only $133.33 of additional expenses per month without spending more per year. My guess is that $133.33 per month may not cover the insurance and utilities costs if you have to cover those, much less the interest and payments on a construction loan.

Do you have any contacts for people in real estate, business financing, architecture, General Contrccting, etc.? If you do then they might be able to help you look at the different components.


----------



## Edrick (Jun 4, 2012)

imastagekid said:


> I have recently started a theater company and after looking into it, were thinking that the 10 grand a year we would spend on renting the theater at the local high school for the two weeks of the show may be roughly the same price and much more difficult than leasing a 4200 sq ft warehouse for 700 dollars a month and converting that into a studio theater. We just don’t really know how to gather all of the information we need to gather ti make that assessment. We are fairly new to the theater running business and know there are many expenses that we are missing. I'd give you more information to work with but I have no idea what information you need.




Who is the "Theater Company" your profile lists you as a HS Student. $700 a month for a warehouse space, plus cost of electric, water, property tax, gas, trash removal, internet, cost of building out the space, operational costs, insurance, supplies, staff etc... the list goes on and on and on.

There's far more to it than "$700" a month, there's a reason why it costs so much to rent out a theater.


----------

