DDA signs $220,000 lease with Bas Bleu

FORT COLLINS – Bas Bleu Theatre Co. will receive $220,000 from the Fort Collins Downtown Development Authority in exchange for making its space on Pine Street available for free to community groups and the general public.

The DDA board voted unanimously at its Thursday morning meeting to accept the 10-year limited-use lease deal and the Bas Bleu board approved it later in the day, according to the theater’s general manager Matt Strauch.

“We’re all very excited about this public/private partnership,” Strauch told the Business Report Daily. “It works out to a lease rate of about $8 per square foot, which is a very fair rate for the second-largest venue in the DDA.”

Under the terms of the lease, groups and individuals will be able to reserve all or part of the space throughout the year based around the Bas Bleu production calendar, which is to be finalized by the end of the month. The available slots will range from seven-day blocks of stage time for performances to daily or hourly use of the lobby or the 150-seat theater for evening events.

The majority of the funds will go toward paying down the remaining $574,000 mortgage on the historic Giddings building, Strauch said. The Bas Bleu board will discuss final allocation of funds at its July meeting.

on Facebook on LinkedIn