The Memorial Opera House may soon be taken over by the city of Valparaiso. The city is in discussions with its current owner, Porter County.
The plan calls for the city to take over management of the historic building by the end of the year. If that goes well, the county could transfer ownership to the city at no cost in December of 2028.
"It's in the heart of our downtown," Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas told the city council Monday. "We do events. We have a significant staff to promote, manage, sell tickets, and we think it's an important facility for our citizens, certainly."
The city would be responsible for routine maintenance and would get to keep any revenue, while the county would pay for any large-scale structural issues over $10,000 a year, as long as it continues to own the property.
On Tuesday, the Porter County Commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding, allowing the city to begin a 60-day due diligence period, so it can study the Memorial Opera House's operation in more detail. The agreement will go to the Valparaiso Board of Works in September. Once the due diligence is done, the two sides would then put together a management agreement.
Porter County Commissioner Jim Biggs believes the change would be good for the Opera House. "My decision to support this was solely based on what I felt benefited the building itself, not only now, but a generation in front of us," Biggs told city officials during Tuesday's county commissioners meeting.
Mayor Costas hopes the Opera House could become the center of a proposed arts district. He believes the city will be able to manage it well going forward.
"I think this is a great example of governments working together and saying, 'You know, you're probably in a better position to take care of this building and to program it,'" Costas said Monday.
The Opera House is currently undergoing a $5 million renovation project. Work on the interior public areas is set to be substantially complete by the end of this week, according to an update given to the commissioners Tuesday, with a dedication scheduled for September 13.
