Downtown Rochester's most ambitious arts construction project hit a significant milestone in January 2026. PROJECT RESTOURATION — the Rochester Broadway Theatre League's (RBTL) five-year, $65 million effort to restore and modernize the historic West Herr Performing Arts Center — officially completed its first phase. According to the Rochester Business Journal, RBTL announced completion on January 13, 2026, coinciding with the reopening of all three primary entrances to the complex and the opening night of Spamalot.

When the full project is finished in 2030, PROJECT RESTOURATION will be the largest renovation ever undertaken by a local arts organization in Rochester's history — and a comprehensive reconstruction of one of downtown Rochester's most architecturally significant buildings.

The Building and Its History

The West Herr Performing Arts Center traces its roots to a building constructed between 1928 and 1930 as a Masonic Temple. RBTL has owned the Auditorium Theatre portion of the building since 2004 and purchased the remainder of the complex in March 2023 — a major expansion of responsibility that prompted the formal launch of PROJECT RESTOURATION that fall. The building at 875 East Main Street houses the West Herr Auditorium Theatre, one of the primary venues for Broadway touring productions in the Rochester region, as well as the Joseph A. Floreano Entertainment and Education Center used for community programming and education.

The building's 1920s craftsmanship — including historic brass doors, detailed stonework, Cathedral Hall on the fourth floor, and the grand Rothschild Lounge — made it a compelling venue to preserve. But decades of deferred maintenance and an original layout designed for a different era had left the building with significant accessibility, comfort, and functionality gaps. PROJECT RESTOURATION addresses all of them.

What Phase One Built

Phase One began in earnest in summer 2023 and focused on accessibility, adaptability, and patron amenities. Completed improvements include:

• A fully redesigned rear/west entrance on the building's accessible side, with a patron drop-off area and a reimagined Floreano Room as a pre-show gathering and concessions space
• A wider corridor with digital information screens leading from the rear entrance to the main lobby
• Refurbishment of two elevators and creation of a new crossover point providing improved access to the second-floor Theatre lobby
• A new second-floor lounge and concessions space with additional restroom facilities
• Rebuilt East Main Street steps, railings, and retaining walls, with widened sidewalks for improved safety and accessibility
• Restoration of historic brass doors that had darkened from oxidation over decades of exposure
• A new LED sign at the East Main Street entrance

"This changes the venue dramatically," Rothschild said when the rear entrance work opened in September 2025. "It's a very visible and visitor-friendly addition." The Phase One work involved over a year of active construction and required careful phasing to keep the Auditorium Theatre operational and in use for the RBTL's Broadway season throughout the construction period.

Funding: A Mix of Public and Private Support

Financing PROJECT RESTOURATION is itself an ongoing construction challenge. The $65 million total target requires continuous fundraising from federal and state programs, historic tax credits, and local philanthropic and corporate donations. As of Phase One completion in January 2026, nearly $20 million had been committed from public and private sources.

RBTL has been explicit about its financial discipline: additional construction phases will not begin until funding is secured. This approach reflects a deliberate effort to avoid creating a project that outpaces its financial foundation.

State funding has played an active role. New York State Senator Jeremy Cooney secured $1 million in state capital funds in July 2025 specifically for renovations to the Joseph A. Floreano Entertainment and Education Center, the only state funding designated for that portion of the project. Earlier in 2025, RBTL received nearly $3 million in state funds for West Herr Auditorium Theatre lobby upgrades — funding that supported the elevator refurbishments and lobby improvements completed in Phase One.

RBTL is partnering with Pike Construction Services and LaBella Associates as construction manager and architect throughout the multi-phase project.

Community and Cultural Impact

The scope of the project extends beyond patron amenities. RBTL's long-term vision includes growing programming to more than 200 shows and events annually across the complex, including smaller-scale performances and community events in the spaces being restored in future phases. Cathedral Hall — the original Masonic lodge room on the fourth floor — is planned to become a flexible venue for performance, events, and private gatherings, adding a revenue-generating and programming space that does not currently exist.

The performing arts center also houses resident arts organizations and provides rehearsal and education space for community programs. Expanding the usable and accessible spaces within the building directly increases the building's utility for the broader Rochester arts community.

Phase Two and the Road to 2030

Phase Two planning is already underway. RBTL has described plans that include:

• Expanding the main-floor Rothschild Lounge to its original size and restoring its grand stone fireplace
• Reconfiguring backstage dressing areas for performers and crew
• Creating smaller-scale performance spaces for new programming
• Restoring Cathedral Hall on the fourth floor into a versatile performance and event venue
• Expanding lobby areas with glass-enclosed additions that preserve views of the original 1928-1930 construction

If the full project is realized by 2030 — the building's 100th anniversary — PROJECT RESTOURATION will have transformed one of downtown Rochester's most prominent historic structures into a modern multi-venue arts complex while preserving the craftsmanship of its original construction. For a region that continues to invest in its cultural infrastructure as a driver of downtown vitality, it represents one of the most sustained and ambitious construction efforts underway in the city today.

Sources

Rochester Business Journal — Phase One Complete (January 2026) | Rochester Business Journal — PROJECT RESTOURATION Launch (November 2024) | Rochester Business Journal — Phase One Milestone (September 2025) | Rochester Beacon — State Funding Award (July 2025) | WHEC News10NBC — Phase One Completion (January 2026)