The group restoring the Sorg Opera House will celebrate the building’s 112th birthday in September with a re-dedication ceremony.
That ceremony is slated for 7 p.m. Sept. 12th — the anniversary of the original opening. There will be an outdoor concert, called “Save Our Sorg,” with the popular Cincinnati bands G. Miles and the Hitmen and Bluebird’s Big Band both scheduled to appear, said Denise Brodsky, a spokeswoman for the group restoring the opera house and the Commercial Building.
It will be a fundraiser for ongoing restoration efforts that will kick into high gear next January if all goes as planned, officials said.
“We’re meeting with the architects to go over building design and determine what fundraising needs there are. We’re actively pursuing grants outside of Middletown,” Brodsky said.
Sorg Opera Revitalization Group (SORG) has been successful with a grant inside Middletown, with the group receiving an $5,725 grant from the city’s Facade Grant Program. That project, costing a total of $11,450, will replace the first floor doors, which have been broken for some time, with safety glass. Various broken windows in the property will also be replaced.
In May , SORG also received a $1,886 check from Stained 1054 Bistro towards their restoration efforts, which have netted more than $6,000. And even bigger monetary influxes may be coming down the pike.
SORG is applying for historic tax credits with a total pool of $60 million. If the organization gets those credits when the distribution is announced in September, the major renovation work will begin in January 2014, Brodsky said.
More than $327 million in tax credits have been awarded to 156 projects in Ohio, including nearly $5.9 million for five projects in Hamilton.
The city has been “very generous” toward SORG and its efforts, donating a mobile stage to the event to be held outside the opera house on 63. S. Main St. SORG does not yet have an occupancy permit to hold performances inside the building, Brodsky said.
Tickets are not yet on sale for the September fundraiser, but when they are they will cost $15 for presale and $20 at the door, she added.
Walt McRee, one of the partners of SORG said, “We’re off to what we think is an exciting beginning … It’s been quite invigorating to see the kind of support Middletown has generated.”