St. Marys residents to get first look inside former Mercury Theater in almost two decades

The Town of St. Marys is inviting residents to take their first look inside the former Mercury Theater in almost two decades as part of a review aimed at ultimately consolidating services in some of the municipally owned buildings surrounding town hall.

St. Marys will host an open house on April 1 from 9 am to 11 am at 14 Church St. N., across the street from St. Marys town hall, as part of the public engagement process for the town’s downtown service location review. The review is being conducted to determine the best use of the former theater and a number of other municipally owned buildings downtown, including town hall, the St. Marys Public Library and the St. Marys Train Station, with the goal of making it easier for residents to access municipal services.

“I know at one point in time it was a formal theater and then, over time, the building was kind of chopped up and now TD Bank operates on one side of it and it’s just a big, open, vacant space in the other side ,” St. Marys top administrator Brent Kittmer said. “It was owned privately for the last 15 to 20 years, and the previous owner had purchased it hoping to make a cultural center out of it but never got the project off the ground.

“As a town, we’ve always had mild interest in the building because it’s immediately across from town hall and it’s vacant. At the staff level, when we started looking at some of the efficiency projects we’ve had in town, we started having a vision of creating a campus of services between town hall and the library and that building.”

After an opportunity to speak with the former owner came up, town officials began negotiating in 2021 and eventually purchased 14 Church St. N. last year.

“It’s a beautiful, old building on the outside and, in the inside, it has suffered from almost two decades of not really being kept up,” Kittmer said.

Since the town has fielded numerous inquiries from residents interested in touring the building and seeing what it looks like, the idea of ​​hosting an open house is a kind of incentive to get residents inside, offer them an opportunity to explore parts of the building and give them a chance to learn about the downtown service location review and provide feedback on the project, Kittmer said.

Those who plan to attend the open house should wear warm clothing and closed-toe shoes.

An online survey, which will also open April 1 on the town’s website, will offer residents a chance to provide their thoughts. Printed copies of the survey will also be available at town buildings.

Kittmer expects the downtown service location review to be complete by the end of this year, with a plan for how to best renovate and use the municipally owned buildings in the downtown to go before council before 2024 budget deliberations. In the meantime, he said the town will clear out the inside of 14 Church St. N. and tear down interior walls and other features so it can be ready for whatever future use the town and council see fit.

While renovations and upgrades to some downtown municipally owned buildings may be included in next year’s capital budget, the overall downtown campus project will likely take between five and 10 years to complete, Kittmer said.

For more information about the downtown service location review, including a list of services offered in downtown St. Marys, visit www.townofstmarys.com/en/town-services/downtown-service-location-review.aspx. Questions about the project can also be directed to Kittmer by calling 519-284-2340 ext. 216 or emailing [email protected].

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