Theater reincarnation
Market to open in former Midtown theater
Former theater in Midtown to house brewery, food market and micro restaurants.
The final piece to redeveloping the block that was once home to the only theater in Midtown is set with plans for a combined market and micro-restaurants.
The Pivot Project bought the former Uptown Theater and adjoining offices and retail at 1212 N Hudson Ave. last year.
They announced Resolution Legal Group will occupy a renovated and expanded two-story office annex on the north half of the block and then said a smaller retail shop on the south end will be expanded into a future home for Elk Valley Brewing Co.
Allison Bailey, representative for Hudson Street Market, confirmed Tuesday the former theater building in the center of the block will be home
It’s collaborative with the brewery and other spaces in midtown. Customers will be able to get eggs, breads, basics for their kitchen and Made in Oklahoma items. It will fill much of the grocery void in Midtown.” Allison Bailey
to six micro-restaurants (300 square feet each) and a larger market that will sell food staples, produce, cheese, chocolates, kitchen items and also host a butcher and fish monger.
Other items likely to be featured at the market will include floral items, cookbooks, table linens and health and beauty products
“This is a market with both ready-to-eat food and a food mercantile,” Bailey said. “It’s collaborative with the brewery and other spaces in midtown. Customers will be able to get eggs, breads, basics for their kitchen and Made in Oklahoma items. It will fill much of the grocery void in Midtown.”
Bailey said the 6,500-square-foot market is inspired by similar operations including Oxbow Public Market in Napa, Calif., Shed in Healdsburg, Calif., and Smallman Galley in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Bailey, who is overseeing leasing, said opportunities are available for food-related vendors who want to rent shelf space and to those who want a larger presence.
She said the market is an attractive option for those who might pursue a food truck but could benefit from smaller investments needed to rent existing small spaces at the market with seating and enclosed space ideal for yeararound operations.
Wade Scaramucci, whose firm Allford Hall Monaghan Morris is overseeing design work, said the job will recreate the expanse of the former theater space while adapting for the new use. The theater operated for 15 years.
“Over time the Siebers went back in and added a second floor for reasons I don’t fully understand,” Scaramucci said. “Part of the arch strategy is to remove a portion of the second floor to reveal the volume that originally existed in parts of the theater and in doing so expose the trusses in the building. We’re also adding a new series of skylights to bring more light into the space, which is more conducive to multi-use.”
Construction on the entire development is set to start by fall with completion in mid-2018.
David Wanzer, managing partner in the Pivot Project, said designs also will allow for restoration of the original facade of the theater, which was opened in 1941.
“The Siebers built a complete neighborhood on this street with the hotel, butcher shop, the theater and the shops,” Wanzer said. “We’re taking it back to what it was in the 1940s, bringing back the old marquee, the windows and transparency that will allow people to see in on the market. It’s time to bring this building back. Most people don’t even realize it was a theater.”