COLUMBUS — Many changes are occurring, and some are already visible at the Stafford Opera House in Columbus.
Thanks to the donations now totaling $583,000, the mechanical room for the new elevator is close to being completed by Darr Construction, and soon, the elevator equipment will be installed by Central Texas Elevator. The mechanical room is in a corner of the Buddy Rau room directly next to the elevator, which now meets code requirements for the new equipment. We hope to have the elevator functioning in the next couple of months, if not sooner.
The hallway has undergone quite a transformation thanks to volunteers and donations of furniture and decor. Most of the art was hidden in other parts of the building, and many of the furnishings were donated, with a few purchased for pennies on the dollar through Facebook Marketplace. Ronny Daley and Missy Parker spent a day in a U-Haul collecting the donations from Houston and surrounding areas.
Boy Scout Troop 312 volunteered one of their Saturdays to help us clean out parts of the storage areas as we continued to make changes to the building.
Thanks to Bedford Plumbing and Darr Construction, the third-floor bathroom re pairs are nearing completion.
The second-floor bathroom design is still under consideration, and construction is planned for early summer.
The Grand Hall will be usable and rentable, though, as soon as the elevator is working.
The building committee comprised of Andrea Schobel, Graham Henkhaus, Ronny Daley and Missy Parker are making sure that donations are being used for the repairs and renovations with a careful eye on every dollar spent in order to complete as many projects as possible in Phase I. Ronny Daley is serving as project manager and donating many, many hours of his time to oversee the projects. His contributions are invaluable. Volunteers are spending over 100 hours every week to 'Save Our Opera House'.
In April, CHPT will hold two 'Sneak Peak' events for members and donors with behind- the-scenes looks at our progress and what is coming. Planning for the fall season of events is in the works and will be announced by early May.
Plays, concerts, comedy and dinner events will be among the offerings.
There will be discounts for members and special offerings for season tickets.
The second-floor bathrooms may still be in the works for the early part of the season, but with some luck and divine help, they will be ready in September.
The fall season will run from September - December.
We can't wait to welcome you back into your community gem and welcome any questions you may have about the projects and their progress.
Feel free to reach out to Executive Director Missy Parker at any time.
