The Heritage Foundation

STEVEN J. GREIL TAPPED TO LEAD HISTORIC FRANKLIN THEATRE

LONGTIME ARTS EXECUTIVE BRINGS PASSION FOR FILM AND LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

FRANKLIN — The Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County today announced the selection of Steven J. Greil, one of Tennessee’s best-known arts executives and events producers, as the new managing director of the historic Franklin Theatre.

Greil, former head of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC), The Nashville Symphony, and a 15-year veteran of the music industry, will oversee the Franklin Theatre’s ongoing restoration, lead the Main Street landmark through its start-up phase, and then manage day-to-day operations. Following the restoration, the theater will operate as a 350-seat film, music and event venue, and anchor downtown Franklin’s ongoing revitalization.

“Steven’s integrity, his management experience in the arts, and his passion for film, music and live entertainment, make him the perfect fit for this job,” said David Garrett, president of the Heritage Foundation. “We’re pleased that he’s going to lead the re-emergence of the Franklin Theatre, and we’re grateful for the community’s continued trust and confidence in this exciting project.”

Greil’s selection caps a four-month executive search led by the Heritage Foundation and the Center for Nonprofit Management. The foundation’s board of directors unanimously chose Greil based on his successful track record leading high-profile arts and entertainment venues, building community support, and overseeing complex capital-renovation projects.

Greil served as president and CEO of TPAC from 1994 to 2005. Prior to leading TPAC, he was executive director of the Nashville Symphony Association.  More recently, Greil worked as a marketing and event-management consultant, a real-estate professional in Nashville with Zeitlin and Company, and was one of the producers of August Wilson’s final play, Radio Golf, on Broadway in New York.  He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University.

“I am excited to join the team at The Heritage Foundation in bringing back the historic Franklin Theatre,” Greil said. “Going back to its historic name signifies that we will be much more than a cinema. I believe the Franklin Theatre will be ‘the hub’ of the arts in Williamson County.

“Middle Tennessee is blessed with a fantastic arts community. We hope we will become ‘the little sister’ to the major arts institutions in Nashville like TPAC, The Nashville Symphony, Nashville Ballet, Nashville Opera, the Tennessee Repertory Theatre, and the many other excellent theater companies and performing arts groups.”

Greil said he is excited about the Heritage Foundation’s commitment to install premium sound, lighting and projection systems in the renovated facility.

“All of the artists and musicians that make Middle Tennessee and Williamson County their homes are going to be able to play with ‘the best and the newest toys’ of their craft at the Franklin Theatre,” Greil said. 

The Franklin Theatre opened in 1937 and enjoyed a continuous run as Main Street’s movie theater until rising property values forced a significant rent increase in 2007. Also, the building had deteriorated and needed a complete restoration. The Heritage Foundation embarked on a major fundraising campaign lead by Emily Magid, Cal Turner and the Martin Foundation and raised more than $6 million to purchase and renovate the two buildings. Construction work is well underway with a projected opening date in spring 2011. Greil will be working in the Heritage Foundation’s offices at the Five Points Post Office until the Franklin Theatre construction is complete.

“I look forward to working and playing with a whole new group of arts patrons and community minded citizens,” Greil said. “The citizens of Franklin and Williamson County have already demonstrated their commitment to historic preservation and to downtown vitality. The Franklin Theatre will bring the lights back on Main Street and become a new cultural destination for all of middle Tennessee, and hopefully the World.”

The Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County is a 43-year-old nonprofit association with the mission to protect and preserve the architectural, geographic and cultural resources of Franklin and Williamson County and continue the revitalization of downtown Franklin in the context of historic preservation. For more information, see www.historicfranklin.com.

 After two and a half years of fundraising, planning and public anticipation, the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County is breaking ground on the historic Franklin Theatre on Main Street in downtown Franklin.The public is invited to attend the ground breaking ceremony on Wednesday, April 7, at 9:30 a.m. at the theater. A brief program and celebration will include remarks from the Foundation’s leadership, recognition of donors, presentation of design boards that reveal the details of the new Franklin Theatre, and a few surprises.

“So many people made this project possible, and we want everyone in town to come celebrate with us,” said David Garrett, president of the Heritage Foundation of Franklin and Williamson County, which owns the Franklin Theatre. “This is a big moment for Franklin, and we are extremely proud of and humbled by the opportunity to restore and expand this fixture on Main Street.”

Built in 1937, the Franklin Theatre has a storied history, but had fallen into disrepair and ceased operations in 2007. The Heritage Foundation, with the support of hundreds of donors, was able to purchase the theater in late 2007 and has been planning its restoration and expansion ever since.

The dream to save the theater started with a $1.75 million loan to purchase the buildings from longtime Heritage Foundation board member and volunteer Emily Magid. Lead donors include Cal Turner, who kick-started the renovation project with the first major challenge grant of $1 million; the Martin Foundation – Charlie and Shannon Martin offered a matching challenge grant of $1.5 million; and Magid forgave the loan to meet Turner’s challenge. Other large gifts followed and there was an enormously successful campaign to sell more than 200 seats in the future theater for $2,500 each. Hundreds of others chipped in with gifts ranging from thousands to $5 and $10 cash donations placed in boxes at festivals and through a number of benefits. Countless organizations jumped in to support the effort.

Hasting Architecture was selected for the design work, with the goal to seek inspiration from the theater’s Depression-era Art Deco design and make it a state-of-the-art, multi-use entertainment venue for live performances, movies and events. Batten & Shaw will serve as the general contractor, and First Farmers & Merchants Bank is handling the financing to fund the gap before pledges are fully collected.

The theater will be a LEED-certified project, meaning it will meet national standards for green buildings, and will be the first LEED-certified restoration in Franklin. The size of the two buildings comprising the Franklin Theatre will be increased by 50 percent, and will include a catering kitchen, green room, storage and backstage space. The theater’s sprinkler system includes the neighboring building, ensuring that one more historic building will have added protection from fire.

The restoration will include the replacement of the neon marquee that graced the front of the building from 1937 until the early 1970s.

FIRST FARMERS COMPLETES FINANCING PACKAGE TO RE-OPEN FRANKLIN THEATRE

The Williamson County Office of First Farmers & Merchants Bank and the Heritage Foundation of Franklin & Williamson County announced the bank will be handling construction financing for the long hoped-for project. This completes a critical phase of the project needed to put the historic building on a path to reopen in possibly a year.

“We’re pleased to help the Heritage Foundation with the theater project,” said Chuck Isaacs, senior commercial relationship manager, First Farmers Williamson County. “Franklin is a great city in which to live and work. Helping rebuild and reopen the Franklin Theatre is a perfect way to bring our expertise and community focus to bear for the Heritage Foundation. We’re excited to see this process continue.”

Idle since 2007, the historic building was purchased by the Heritage Foundation with plans to refurbish it for a multi-use entertainment facility. A fundraising campaign has been steadily raising money to help cover restoration and renovation costs.

“We’re pleased that First Farmers was able to provide financing for the project,” said Mary Pearce, executive director, The Heritage Foundation of Franklin & Williamson County. “

The theater is a vital part of Franklin and First Farmers will be a wonderful partner in restoring it to prominence. That’s exactly what I’d expect a community bank to be.”The theater opened July 15, 1937 with the showing of Night Must Fall, starring Robert Montgomery and Rosalind Russell. The one-screen cinema seated 600 on the main floor and 130 in the balcony and initial admission price was 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children. In 1938, it became the first building on Main Street to be air-conditioned and by the 1940s was showing movies seven days a week until its closure in 2007. Several special premiers have since been held at the cinema, including Friday Night Lights in 2004, Elizabethtownin 2005 and a number of Veggie Tale productions from now Franklin-based Big Ideas Inc.

The Heritage Foundation of Franklin & Williamson County is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization focused on preserving the historic resources in Franklin and Williamson County, Tennessee. Among its programs is the award-winning Main Street Program and the Downtown Franklin Association, which promotes and revitalizes the 150 unique places to explore in the 15-block downtown National Register District.

An official groundbreaking ceremony has been scheduled for Wednesday, April 7th.

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