Nick Wilkinson on Wednesday outlined a $52 million plan to the County Commission for a complete restoration of the Tivoli Theatre along with the adjacent Fowler Brothers building.
Mr. Wilkinson, executive director of the Tivoli Foundation, is asking the county for a $2 million contribution. The city is set to provide $5 million to go with an earlier $1 million. The state pledged $360,000.
The Tivoli group has raised over $14 million, and part of the project will come through tax credits and a loan.
Mr. Wilkinson said the Tivoli lobby will get a large expansion by opening up into the adjacent historic building.
There will be smaller theater space in the Fowler Brothers section, and Mr. Wilkinson said the Symphony will practice there, opening up more event days at the Tivoli.
The much larger space will allow the Tivoli to launch an educational program designed for local school children. Mr. Wilkinson said at least 50 percent of the children taking part will be from low income backgrounds.
Mr. Wilkinson said, "We want the new Tivoli Center to be the Lincoln Center of Chattanooga."
He said prior to the start of the foundation in 2015 the Tivoli and Memorial Auditorium were losing $1.5 million per year and offering few shows. He said it is now on a self-sustaining basis operationally and shows presented is up over 900 percent.