Dan Woods talks with downtown Cape Girardeau developer Brennon Todt and Old Town Cape executive director Liz Haynes about the next phases of the Broadway Theatre project.
Woods:
This is KRCU's Going Public. I’m Dan Woods, and I'm here with Liz Haynes. She's executive director of Old Town Cape.
Haynes:
Hi. Thanks for having us today.
Woods:
And Brennon Todt is here from Todt Roofing. Good to have you here, too.
Todt:
Happy to be with you.
Woods:
Okay, so, believe it or not, we talked—it’s been a couple of years ago now—right when the Broadway Theatre work was being done. It's time for an update to see where we are now. Some exciting things to share, right?
Haynes:
Some really exciting things. You know, we were just talking, it's hard to believe it's been two years since we last talked to you about this. Seems like it was yesterday, but a lot's been happening in those two years. So, let's hear from the guy doing all the…making all the magic happen here.
Woods:
What's the latest?
Todt:
Well, are you ready?
Woods:
Yes.
Todt:
Well, of course, we’re very excited about Phase 2 now of the Broadway Theatre. So, Phase 1, we feel like, of course, was a great success for the community. It’s been very well received by the community. We’ve got a couple great businesses in Phase 1 now, and some upper level living spaces. So, now that that's been completed and stabilized, the time has come to move on to Phase 2. Now, here's a question before I dive into the details of this. Are you familiar with the section of the building that Phase 2 is going to be? That’s the question.
Woods:
I don't remember. So, I...
Haynes:
Well, I know.
Woods:
I'm a blank slate here, which I usually am a blank slate, so it's okay.
Haynes:
With all those presentations we did at city council, right, I think we all had that memorized. So, this is the auditorium portion of the theater. So that's very, very exciting because there was a lot of conversation, right, over time about what's he going to do with it, you know? So, I think the community will be very excited to hear what the ideas are for it. Well, that's exactly right.
Todt:
So, we're talking auditorium space. Now, you know, picture the scene when you walk into this theater—and you can see some of this on Facebook, if you follow Todt Construction or if you follow me. The ceilings in this auditorium space, you know, they're over 30-feet tall. We've got arched, you know, barrel ceilings that have exposed woodwork from, you know, 100 years ago. And let's talk about the slanted floor that was the, you know, previous auditorium where the chairs were, of course, facing the stage where the vaudeville performances took place.
Now, let's talk basement. You've got a basement underneath that suspended concrete floor, and the basement has, of course, a sloped ceiling, but at its highest point, you know, the ceilings are over 12-foot tall in the basement. So, you're talking about quite a structure here. And so, our goal in Phase 2 is to maximize every square inch of the space that we can. And also in Phase 2, you've got the balcony, where you had the additional seating, right, that you can now see down to the stage.
Now, I'll put a little bit out about this later, but here's something interesting we found in Phase 2, right? Go up on the balcony, and in the balcony, you'll see these old wooden boxes. You know, they stand about a foot tall. They're about 8-feet long, and they're about 3-feet deep. Old, hard wood planked flooring on these boxes that are sitting right in the front row of the balcony. Now, what would a box be doing up there in the balcony that, you know, just seems precariously set right on the front row? Well, have you ever heard the term box seats?
Woods:
Oh.
Todt:
You know? You go to a baseball game, and you want to pay a little more, you can sit in some box seats. Well, these are the original version of a box seat. So, originally they had chairs bolted down to them, and these would be, like, the premier seats, where you're right on the balcony, so you're right on the railing. You had the best, most unimpeded view of the stage. And so, we've got those. We're excited to find a way to reuse them in Phase 2. But that's a little teaser of some of the historic things that we found, and we're going to continue to share more.
Haynes:
But definitely check him out on social media, because the videos, that he kind of was alluding to, but the videos that he is sharing are so cool, Dan. I don't know if you've had a chance to check some of these out.
Woods:
Yeah, and I’ll link some to this post.
Haynes:
But oh my gosh…like these hidden gems…what's so cool is Brennon, when he does these videos is he's asking the community, what do you think we should do with this amazing, you know, whatever the item is? How should we incorporate it into the building? So, it's exciting to get that community engagement. So, we encourage, you know, more folks to follow, you know, Brennon and…or you post on Todt Roofing is the page to follow. You know, you can be a part of helping determine what, you know, these historical pieces, what part they're going to play in this development.
Todt:
That's exciting. That's right. And the goal is…the reason we want more community engagement, right, is we want this to be the heartbeat of the community. What better place than a historic theater that was nearly torn down to now become a central hub for the community to come and enjoy a community space. And so, a little bit more about this space…and now, keep in mind now, we have this plan for this space, right? But anytime you make a plan, you have to have some fluidity to the plan. So, what I mean by that is, you can have a vision for the space, and you can start building toward that vision and…but in the entrepreneurial world, you know, you have to keep your vision flexible, and you have to follow the consumer. So, we have a plan that we think is going to fill a big void in our community, but we're also flexible based on the needs of what the community brings to us. That's why these posts are so important. You read through the comments, you hear people expressing, here's what we would like to see in our downtown. So, I'll tell you the plan, but I just want to preface that with the fact that, you know, we're fluid and ever changing based on, you know, what entrepreneurs approach us and feel like they want. We really feel excited to introduce this concept of a Broadway Market to our downtown.
Woods:
Okay.
Todt:
And I'm happy to announce that this is the first time that this has been mentioned publicly.
Woods:
Oh, wow.
Haynes:
You're hearing it here, guys. You are hearing it here.
Todt:
On KRCU.
Haynes:
Hot off the presses.
Woods:
Exciting.
Todt:
So, that is our goal is to create an open market concept where we can attract makers and bakers and artisans and eateries, and just a community melting pot where we have…we have this concept in mind of somewhere between 15 to maybe 18 vendor spaces that will fill a void in the community, where maybe you're ready for something a little bit bigger than the booth that you've been renting, say, at the farmer's market, or, say, at the antique store. But you're not quite ready to plunge into that 3000-square-foot brick and mortar space. You'd like to have something in the middle that would allow you to continue to grow your business and see if you're ready for the next step, so…
Haynes:
And if I can interject for just a second, you know, at Old Town Cape, we see that a lot. So, with our market, and even with some other spaces in the community where there, you know, there's a booth rental, there really is a gap in, you know, in what you what you pay for your booth rental and then what you pay for the going rate of brick and mortar space. But here, when you have that booth rental, you are developing your clientele, you're perfecting your merchandising, perfecting your product. And so, it's really, really exciting to see that, you know, we have a downtown developer that's willing to help fill that gap and there's a market for it.
Todt:
Yeah. Thank you. That's exactly where we're headed with this concept is that we could find room for 15 to 18 new entrepreneurs in our community that are ready to bring their vision to Cape Girardeau and bring their services and their products. And so, the idea is on the main auditorium level, you know, we'd be able to have this market.
Woods:
That’s a big space.
Todt:
It is a big space. You know, of course, it's deceiving because it's so tall. The square footage of the auditorium itself is between 5000 to 6000-square-feet.
Woods:
Okay.
Todt:
So, it's sizeable, but it's not, you know, it's not huge. However, this is where we need to take advantage of the space that we have vertically. So, we will be putting in a suspended floor in the in this auditorium space. And this is where it also gets exciting because we're big believers, if you can imagine, you go in to the main level, you've got some warehouse style garage doors that are open seasonally. You've got some outdoor seating space. You've got some off street parking there, and you walk in and you've got these vendor spaces, right? But to capitalize on the vertical space, you know, upstairs, we plan to have six living spaces. And these living spaces, much like the ground level, will incorporate key parts of the historic structure. So, for example, one of the living spaces upstairs will have in it the proscenium arch from the original stage.
Haynes:
Which is absolutely beautiful and amazingly intact. That's one of the things that astounded me the most about the building from day one is like how intact this gorgeous proscenium arch is.
Woods:
Is that a testament just how well the building was built?
Todt:
Absolutely. This building, this building is incredible, the craftsmanship. And we've been saying that from the day that, you know, it was nearly torn down, just how well built this building is.
Haynes:
Absolutely.
Todt:
And this is a testament to that. So, these living spaces will incorporate the barreled arch ceilings, the proscenium arch, the brickwork, the original ironwork on the trusses. All of it will stay, and these spaces will now…we’ll bust out big windows in the side of the building. These people are now going to be able to enjoy a view of their downtown from the top balcony section of the Broadway Theatre as living spaces, and we're excited. We think these are going to be some of the premier spaces that'll be made available in our community.
Haynes:
I bet there will be a waiting list. I mean, these are going to be so cool and so unique, you know?
Woods:
Yeah, and this is all okay, this is all Phase 2.
Todt:
This is all part of Phase 2.
Woods:
Okay, all right.
Todt:
So, that takes care of your upper level, and that takes care of your ground level. So, now I want you to think about what a concept would look like of a Broadway Underground.
Woods:
Okay.
Todt:
And so, I want you to imagine a basement space that gives off a real speakeasy, underground vibe. That has big, tall ceilings, but also has the arched floor. So, once again, this is all fluid, but I want you to imagine, you know, maybe a 50-seat miniature theater that plays old movies…
Woods:
Oh, wow.
Todt:
That you can come down and…maybe you've got some other attractions downstairs. Maybe you've got some, you know, putt putt golf or you've got different games, old, you know, pinball machines and games, a space that is perfect for gathering with friends.
Haynes:
Family.
Todt:
It's family-oriented. It's got nostalgia in the sense that we're paying homage to the original theater concept, and it gives you an exclusive vibe in the sense that it's underground. And here's the cool part, too, with this underground theater and this underground space…the idea is to connect it to other spaces that also have basements on Broadway. So, now imagine a situation where, you know, there's a possibility of, you know, passage ways that allow you to go to the neighboring basement space.
Woods:
What?
Haynes:
Is that cool or what?
Woods:
Wow. Yes.
Todt:
That's the vision now, so we'll see how this shakes out. But that is our intention, and we really want to make this a talking point, a destination in downtown.
Woods:
There's nothing quite like that.
Haynes:
There's not. And that, you know, Brennon just used the word destination. These are the types of places that we are looking for, you know, for developers and entrepreneurs to seek out in our downtown, because that is what's going to make our downtown continue to grow and thrive and get foot traffic, you know, in our downtown to support all of our businesses. You know, we really hear a lot that, um, you know, we need more family-friendly places downtown, and we need more places where, like, safe places where teens can go because there's a little bit of a gap in the market in that area. So, this checks all of those boxes. And then, you know, living spaces downtown have really become in demand. So, you know, there's been a waiting list of downtown apartments in the past. And so, there really is a demand for people to live downtown. And then when they do, they become the biggest downtown supporters of the downtown businesses naturally, you know, because they want to walk around and that's just part of the vibe of living downtown. So, this checks so many of the boxes to help our downtown continue to grow and thrive. And I don't think we talked too much about it, because I don't remember the timing exactly of when we were here last, but the other businesses that were part of Phase 1 have been instrumental in terms of just adding unique spaces to our downtown. You know, the two-level, swanky bourbon bar that's got this speakeasy vibe downstairs. So cool and so unlike anything else that we have downtown. We've now got a really cool business there on the corner, a boutique, Vera June, which is super cute and really neat, quality items if you haven't been in there. And then the upper level is Airbnbs, right?
Todt:
Yeah that's right.
Haynes:
So, and those are luxury…I should say they're luxury Airbnbs. They're gorgeous. So, you know, all of that is adding to, you know, just the momentum in the downtown. So, it's exciting.
Todt:
Yeah, we posted a while back some before and after photos, and you can kind of see how far the building has come and its evolution as the renovations were done. These businesses have become such concrete pillars to the building, and we're just so excited to continue that, and paying homage to the original building, it's craftsmanship. And like was mentioned earlier, you know, we're finding so many hidden treasures in the building. Every opportunity that we have to highlight them, the story behind them, you know, I think it just cements this space in history here in Cape Girardeau. And the community's loving it. We're getting such good feedback. And isn't it true we need some positivity?
Haynes:
Amen.
Todt:
You know, we've got so much going on. So, a little positive, positive vibe for our downtown and continuing that forward momentum with something that everyone can be excited about.
Haynes:
You know, one of my favorite hidden gems that you found in the Broadway Theatre was that…was it a door frame that's got the signatures on it?
Todt:
That’s right.
Haynes:
That was so cool. So, we were digging around one day down in the basement where there were green rooms, where the actors, you know, would spend time before and after the shows. And we're, you know, we had flashlights, you know, there was no electricity. It was pitch dark. It was a treasure hunt, and we came across this neat area where cast members had signed their names, and then there was dates and little messages. And so right away, you had that taken away to for safekeeping, right?
Todt:
That's right.
Haynes:
Which you're going to incorporate it back in?
Todt:
Yeah, that's right. We took it out. We've got it in storage in a safe spot, know exactly where it's at. I said, we got to protect this. This is history. These musicians, they all signed their names, and they dated it, and they left little notes about what they were playing, and what instrument, and this is 1925. So, we just passed a hundred year mark of the anniversary of this performance by these particular musicians.
Haynes:
That’s incredible.
Todt:
Yeah, we took the door directly out of the dressing room that they had all signed, and it was an unbelievable history.
Haynes:
These buildings, you know, they all have a story, and they've got history, and, you know, people's emotions and their lives, you know, memories were in these buildings. And so, the fact that we've been able to save them for future generations to enjoy is just incredible.
Woods:
That's what's just so powerful, I think.
Haynes:
Yeah, yeah. It really is, and it's just cool. Very cool.
Woods:
And this is Phase 2, and there's still a 3rd phase, right?
Todt:
There's still a 3rd phase. We've thrown out a few teasers. The 3rd phase, you know, we've got a fly house, which, if you're not familiar with theater terminology, like I wasn't and had to be educated on, but the fly house is the portion of the theater where the curtain, you know, would be raised up and disappear from view. So, for that very reason, of course, you got a very tall stage and a tall curtain, so you had to have a tall structure where the curtain could be raised up, and then, of course, you had all your rope rigging and lighting and all this that would be up. So, as you look up into the fly house, you know, it's, oh, it's over 40-feet tall of just brick walls that were built a hundred years ago, and square as can be, and absolutely just screaming for attention. And so, yeah, we've put some feelers out there. What would the community like to see in Phase 3? And that's the feedback we're after. You know, we've got some great feedback thus far, you know, everything from, you know, turning it into a climbing gym, to, you know, other ideas for apartments, or we had one suggestion on social media. Someone said, you know, you should make it like a balconied area where you have like some sort of living green space inside and…
Haynes:
That's a cool idea.
Todt:
We've just been getting a lot of great feedback. We've had some propose, you know, what about a roller skating rink?
Haynes:
And we hear that a lot, actually.
Woods:
Really?
Haynes:
In that particular space?
Todt:
Well, that was more of a concept of, you know, could this be in the basement? Could this, but it could incorporate Phase 3.
Haynes:
Roller skating rink and an ice skating rink, we hear all the time, you know, would be cool just to have…again, family-friendly opportunities for people. So, whether it's there or maybe one of Brennon's other buildings, but that would be a cool thing to incorporate at some point.
Woods:
Yeah.
Haynes:
Lots of cool, lots of cool ideas. And, you know, talk Brennon, for a second about the basement of the, uh, Bourbon & Bitters. We incorporated some of the theater, the historic elements into that, right? I feel like people would like to hear about that.
Todt:
Yeah, that's right. So, you know, in the basement, if you haven't been to Bourbon & Bitters and seen Michelle Latham there, you've got to go. She has done a fantastic job of curating that space into an awesome lounge that's upscale, but really just pays so much homage to the original theater. And so, one of the neat things we were able to do in that space, working with her was, you've got these art deco light fixtures that were in the theater, covered up by, you know, modern upgrades, but they were still there, hidden. We were able to find them, take them out, save them, restore them, and then reinstall them. So, if you go check out her space, you'll see all the light fixtures for the most part, those are original, you know, to the theater. And also, just the structure, you know, you go down and you see these, the concrete pillars and the brick work in the building, and as you look around, realize that this was all…none of this was redone. All of this is original work. And it's quite, it's quite the architecture.
Haynes:
That's impressive. I think also, wasn't the fireplace mantel, the wood used was a portion of the wood used from the original stage, right?
Todt:
Yes, that's right.
Haynes:
That's another, just cool, you know, nod to the history of the building that's been incorporated into the design. So, it's so neat. I love when, you know, when developers and folks doing these rehabs, pull in some of those elements. And then, you know, when people go there that maybe they went to the original theater, like, oh my gosh, I remember those light fixtures. How cool. And it becomes a conversation piece, too.
Todt:
Yeah, absolutely. We, that's why we came up with this concept of maybe doing a miniature theater in the basement space where, you know, you guys probably remember the Dollar Show.
Haynes:
Oh, yes.
Woods:
I remember that.
Haynes:
We walked down there and went all the time. A lot of people in the community will remember that, I think.
Woods:
Yes.
Todt:
Yeah, so, what about a way to pay homage to the Dollar Show and make it to where you could come see a dollar show?
Haynes:
That’s really a cool idea.
Todt:
You know, obviously, you know the dollar has changed a lot over the years. So, maybe there's some other ways that we can make it serviceable to the community, generate revenue, but make it to where there's still a way that you can teach your kids and grandkids about the, you know, what was there originally and how this is, this is a play on that.
Haynes:
In fact, when you acquired the building, all of those seats were still in it…
Todt:
That’s right.
Haynes:
From the dollar theater, and so now, you still have them in the basement, right?
Todt:
Yeah, that's right. We still have a good number of the seats and we, you know, the goal would be to clean them up and then reuse them.
Haynes:
That’s really good.
Todt:
Now, the floors may not be as sticky.
Haynes:
And they were that, I remember.
Woods:
I remember that, too.
Haynes:
Yeah, you almost couldn't move one foot in front of the other.
Todt:
So, you know, we thought about for nostalgic value, maybe, pouring some soda on them, give you that sticky feel, but we decided against that. But hopefully have some good feels that come to mind whenever you go down there.
Haynes:
Well, one of my favorite pieces of this, too, was the signs, the sign we did on the front of the building. That was so cool. It just it turned out just beautifully. And when you were envisioning this and talking with the designer and the individual who did that project, Steve Watkins, you know, you really wanted it to be a nod to the original sign, right?
Todt:
That's right. Yeah, we had done some research, and Suzanne Hightower deserves a shout out. She did a lot of leg work trying to find the original documents and pictures. And we knew what the original sign looked like, and the goal was to try to recreate it as close as we can. We'd never done anything like that before, didn't know where to turn to, but right here in Cape Girardeau, we were able to connect with the owner of The Forge, Steve Watkins. And man, Steve got so excited about it. He said, “I can’t wait to take on this challenge.” And boy, we partnered up, and he went to town building that sign. We would get weekly updates on the progress and what a project it was and man, he did a fantastic job.
Haynes:
In fact, I think he told me during the time, he couldn't fit the sign in his workspace because it was so enormous. And so, he actually like rented a space or used a friend’s space, something, just so he could do this project because it's such a big sign. But it's really enhanced that corridor, which, you know, the Old Town Cape District starts back at West End Boulevard. But, you know, for all intents and purposes, a lot of people, you know, see that Pacific, that cross crossroads there Pacific and Broadway as an entrance corridor. And so that block, it's just amazing now between, you know, that sign and the, you know, the rehab of the Broadway Theater, and then the sign that same individual, Steve Watkins, also is finalizing, if it's not already finalized, but the sign there at the Esquire, too. So, both of those together, it's just it's so cool.
Todt:
And that's the beauty of it, right? So, Steve says, “I've never built a sign before, but I'll do it.” And so, he does it, does a fantastic job. So, then Ben Traxel from Esquire, says, “Hey, who built the sign? Oh, Steve? I'm going to get a hold of him for my sign.” And just like that, you know, you've got that sharing in the community and get Steve on the mark for really just putting these together. It's fascinating.
Woods:
Well, it makes me, and this is… what I'm curious from you, Brennon, is, you started in doing roofing. Now you're into this sort of stuff. What have you learned and how do you, like sometimes you probably look at something, what? How do we go about doing this? Do you…is it…do you just have a brain that can figure this stuff out? How do you go about doing something? It’s just, to me, so enormous. It would be overwhelming.
Todt:
Yeah, sure, sure. Well, and I can understand those feelings. You're not alone in that, you know. But really, for me, I'm fortunate to have had some good training that came actually in a theocratic venue. You know, as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, we do a lot of volunteer work, and that includes renovating our places of worship. And I had the opportunity to assist in a volunteer way with our renovating of some of our places of worship, our kingdom halls, and my first assignment in doing that was in New York City. So, now, imagine this country boy from Missouri goes up to New York City, and, you know, we've got these buildings in Brooklyn and in Manhattan and the Bronx, and we've got to renovate them. And the feelings that you just described are exactly how I felt then. How are we going to do this? You know, there's all these logistical problems and permitting. And so, getting good training, doing that volunteer work, I really have to give credit to Jehovah God and to the organization and just the way that they trained us to tackle these type of projects. And over the years, you know, it absolutely shapes how you now look at a project. And you can look at a project and say, okay, how am I going to eat this elephant? One bite at a time, I'm going to start with this. And you have to have a good team around you that, and you can't tackle everything, of course, on your own, but if you have a great team and you delegate well and you trust and train and empower others, then you delegate things out, and you can tackle these type of projects.
Woods:
Do you see something and then you have to go home and, I mean, do you think about things for a couple of days? Sometimes you see something and go, hmm. I wonder how we’re going to... I just…
Todt:
Yeah.
Woods:
The thought process to me is fascinating on how you see something, maybe, that's just really unique that you really didn't expect, but you think there's a way to get around doing what you want to do. You just set noodle on that for a couple of days?
Todt:
Well, absolutely. Yes, you do. But I will say for me, you know, I'll give you an example, right? So, my dad is Chuck Todt, right? So, he's affectionately known as the dad of downtown because he pretty much is always seen on Broadway. You know, working on project.
Haynes:
He really is.
Todt:
And so…but my dad, you know, he can look at an engine, right? And in moments, he can diagnose not only the parts and components, but the problem that it may have if it's not functioning correctly. I don't have that gift. However, I can look at a space and pretty much, pretty quickly, look at it and say, oh, man, I have a vision for this. And Liz can kind of speak to that when we first walked through the theater. It just hit me certain way. Now, that can, that's not meant to be said in a bragging way. It can be a curse, too. Make no mistake. But, you know, then you get some key players with you, and you say, “Okay, guys, this is my vision. What do you think?” And they say, “Oh, yeah, that's a great idea. Now, don't forget about this…or structurally think about this.” And then your vision starts to morph, and it comes to life as what is feasible, and that's how it's born.
Woods:
Okay, and that’s exciting.
Haynes:
Well, that takes me back to, you know, when Steve Hoffman, on our board, you know he's faculty here at SEMO, Dr. Hoffman with historic preservation. When, the theater…you know, it was becoming clear that, you know, we're going to we're going to have to step in. We had already, obviously, for decades, been working on trying to save this theater, of course. But, you know, once the fire happened, there was this urgency, right? So, like, we got to start like a campaign around this. And so, we started touring people through the theater at that time, you know, the mayor, city council members, key stakeholders that we thought would make sense to bring through. And we had just met Brennon because he was working on the River & Rails building at that time. And we're like, man, he's doing some cool stuff down there. This guy seems to know what he's doing and is passionate about our downtown, right? And so then, at that point, we were like, we got to get him in there, you know, so we invited Brennon to come and tour with us. And Steve and I, we could tell from the very beginning when we were touring through—again, this building with no electricity—we all had flashlights. And in fact, we teased because we may have talked about this at our last interview, but we actually ended up getting locked in there. So, we teased that we just locked Brennon in the theater until he decided to do the project. But at any rate, you know, we're looking around with flashlights, and it was just, it was the questions that he was asking. And Steve and I kept making eye contact like, oh my gosh, you know, he's excited. He's asking really great questions. So, you know, I think we, Steve and I knew, and I guess it was a lot of it was hope, right? But, you know, we could see that the wheels were turning and his head right from the beginning. So, it's cool.
Todt:
Well, she failed to mention the smoke coming out of my ears.
Haynes:
Right, right, right.
Woods:
Well, for the timeline, it's been a couple of years since you started, and you got Phase 2 and 3. Another 2-3 years, if you had to guess to complete everything you'd like to do?
Todt:
Yeah, I think that's realistic. You know, I think that we will probably have, you know, at least a year of construction in Phase 2, and that may extend a little bit beyond that. But then the goal is, you know, of course, you like to get things stabilized, and as soon as they're stabilized, you know, we're ready to move into the next phase. I think Phase 3 will probably be the shortest construction phase, just because all the infrastructure's been laid underground, and, you know, the main components that make the building function are there.
Woods:
Okay.
Todt:
So, we'd like to think that that would be the shortest, but, of course, you know, if someone comes and says they want a climbing gym, you know, that might change things. But, I think within two to three years, we should really be on the tail end of this, and, and we would like to think this would be functioning as a major hub in downtown.
Woods:
Yeah. And you want community input?
Haynes:
Yes.
Todt:
We are begging for it. So, no one can say that they didn't get the chance to have input on what was going in here.
Haynes:
One hundred percent. That’s right. And if you're not on Facebook, but, you know, you still want input, you know, you can call the Old Town Cape office, too, and say, you know, I heard that you want community input on the Broadway Theater, here are my thoughts. We will absolutely share that information with Brennon, too.
Todt:
Yeah, that's right, and we're very open to meeting with entrepreneurs, even if someone would just like to take a tour, they have an idea of something that they would like in the space. By all means, we're open. You know, we're very accessible. Like I said, you know, we can be seen most days traveling up and down Broadway between different projects, and you can always just pull in and say, hey, I want to talk to somebody about, you know, an idea I have. We'd like to be that plugged in with the community.
Haynes:
And it's cool because Brennon has other properties throughout the majority downtown, right? But, you know, both residential and commercial. So, there's a lot of simultaneous projects happening too, to further the kind of vision for our thriving downtown. So, as you said, they're all over the place, and it's exciting to see that passion and that drive. And just, you know, folks like Brennon investing in our downtown, you know, it's just, it's, it's really exciting and keeping that momentum going.
Todt:
Yeah, and I guess that's an appropriate segue into another little teaser.
Woods:
Oh?
Todt:
Yeah, we've recently acquired yet another property that is on the endangered property list. And we've already got plans in the works to renovate it, save it, and return it to service to the community. So, if you wonder, “Well, what project are they going to take on next?” Typically, you just look at the endangered list of properties in Cape, and that's going be a hot list that we're always looking at. I don't know if we have this record, we probably don't, but I'd like to pride myself on thinking that, you know, we are maybe in amongst the leaders of the pack on, hey, what buildings were in danger that we've now been able to get into and save. That's something we're really proud of.
Haynes:
That's something to be proud of. That's very, very exciting. Absolutely.
Woods:
This has been exciting. So, we'll connect your Facebook to this post when we get this online and folks can make comments, make suggestions. You really want that feedback.
Todt:
We absolutely do. We love that.
Woods:
All right, Brennon Todt, Liz Haynes, good to visit with you. Thank you for this exciting update, and we'll check it again soon.
Haynes:
Thanks so much, Dan.
Todt:
Yeah, thanks, Dan.
For more information, check out:
Brennon Todt's Facebook page
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