TRAVERSE CITY -- It's been about 30 years in the making.
That's how long Jeffry Corbin and others have worked to restore the historic City Opera House.
Just one more phase remains, and the City Opera House Heritage Association hopes to get about $1 million of federal stimulus funding to make that happen.
"The building will continue to operate without it, but if we complete everything we planned on doing, it'll make the building that much better," said Corbin, a heritage association member. "We wouldn't have to worry about the fundraising aspect for construction. We could fundraise for an endowment for the operation of the building."
The group spent $8.3 million in public and private funds over seven years to bring the 1890s opera house back to life while preserving its Victorian features.
The balcony reopened for performing arts, music, banquets and weddings in 2007 after being closed to patrons for 50 years.
The remaining work, set at just more than $1 million, includes decorative painting in the 710-seat auditorium, balcony and lobby, installation of a decorative acoustical ceiling in the lobby, a concessions counter, third floor restrooms, backstage dressing rooms, catering kitchen equipment and other decorations and equipment.
The Opera House is an important downtown attraction, said Rob Bacigalupi, deputy director of the Downtown Development Authority.
"The Opera House and the State Theatre are sort of like the cultural book ends to Front Street," he said. "We want to finish that renovation and realize the vision the City Opera House Heritage Association had for the building."
Construction and painting could be ready to go as soon as a month after receiving funding, Corbin said.
"It's exciting from that standpoint that we would put local people to work," he said.
But there was a glitch in requesting the stimulus funding.
The state government's online list of project requests includes two for the Opera House. One lists a $9.3 million price, and the other asks for $1 million.
The association isn't asking for $9.3 million, Corbin said. That figure is the total cost of the entire project, of which $1 million has yet to be spent.
"We'll certainly get that off of there," he said. "We don't want to complicate the process of determining who gets what."
