Just as the Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC) was emerging from a nearly six-month closure to complete renovations, Hamilton Stage will be closed indefinitely after damage suffered from Hurricane Ida.

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A message posted on the UCPAC website this week noted that “badly needed restoration work to the inside of the UCPAC Main Stage auditorium is nearing completion,” but Hamilton Stage will be closed until further notice. “The bad/sad news is that our beautiful Hamilton Stage suffered significant water damage during last week’s storm, and will be closed until further notice. We’ll share more about what the future holds for our modern performing arts space when we have a more concrete plan in place.”

Hamilton Stage is not the only arts facility closed due to damage from Hurricane Ida. The South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) will be closed until Oct. 1. Hamilton Street was inundated with water, according to photos and videos on Facebook, showing cars submerged in the parking lot.

The $8.5-million Hamilton Stage was built about a decade ago after renovations to a former Bell Telephone building on Hamilton Street. City Council approved plans in 2010 to build arts facilities on the site of the former Hamilton Laundry. Two years earlier, the Redevelopment Agency had the facility demolished after acquiring the site in 2004. (For a glimpse of what was on the site before parking lot, check out this post from 2008.)ar

In addition to a 199-seat theater on the north side of the building, there is a rehearsal hall on the south side of the facility that can be used a small theater with up to 60 seats.

After heavy flooding in 2007, plans for the former Hamilton Laundry site shifted from an arts center and independent film theater to a park and outdoor amphitheater.

In early 2011, the Redevelopment Agency shifted gears and instead of a 1,300-seat amphitheater on the former Hamilton Laundry site, decided to build a parking lot in the interim. In September 2011, after rejecting earlier bids, the agency accepted a $1.1-million bid for construction of a 115-space parking lot.

The agency also acquired two adjacent Hamilton Street homes in 2010 that were razed but decided a year later to hold off on purchasing the remaining two homes.

Ten years ago last month, Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene caused widespread flooding throughout downtown, including right up to the Hamilton Stage.

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