PROVIDENCE – Durkee, Brown, Viveiros & Werenfels Architects of Providence has been chosen to design the restoration of the Victory Theatre in Holyoke, Mass., the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts has announced.
Durkee, Brown, was chosen over five other finalists because of their experience in historic preservation and vision for the Victory, festival Executive Director Don Sanders said in a statement.
“In the end Durkee Brown had the winning combination of visual finesse for the Victory’s historic interior, contemporary vision for its modern updating and a price that was the most competitive,” Sanders said.
Opened in 1920 on Suffolk Street in Holyoke and closed in 1979, the Victory was purchased by the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts in 2009 to restore and return to use for theater, opera, dance, film and other arts.
The restoration project is expected to cost $29 million and is being funded in part with state historic preservation tax credits.
In addition to the Victory, the firm is also working on the conversion of an old mill in Lowell, Mass., and restored the Newport Casino at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport.
$29 MILLION!!!!!!!! Tear it down and build a new one for less than half the cost.