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Mayor sees Rivoli theater project progress

The offices above the Rivoli storefonts have been renovated and the owners are seeking tenants
By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



CHICOPEE With its seats disassembled and sitting in a pile, its ceiling removed to the rafters and piles of excavated dirt where the floor used to be, the Rivoli Theater looks more like a cavern than an entertainment venue.

When owner Konrad Wargulewski looks around the site, he doesn't see chaos. He sees his dream slowly, but surely, coming to fruition.

"I am 100% positive about it [the renovation project]," Konrad said. "I have no regrets."

Konrad, his sister Agnes and father Eugene escorted Mayor Michael Bissonnette through the Chicopee landmark on June 26 to show the mayor the progress they have made on the project.

The Wargulewski family bought the theater and the adjoining retail and office building with the plan of renovating the office and retail space and transforming the theater into a multi-use performance venue. Konrad said the new theater would be a dance club, but also will be used to screen movies and have live performances on its stage.

Finishing the renovations to the office and retail space will be completed first. The Wargulewskis have invested $700,000 of their own money into the project so far. In order to secure loans of $750,000, lenders have told the family to finish that part of the project first and establish a revenue stream by renting that part of the complex, Frank Caruso, the family's attorney, said.

"The city is trying to help us by putting together something with local lenders," Caruso added.

Most of the work on the storefronts has been finished. The family has made improvements to the façade and renovated the interiors, including adding all new lavatories. The floors remain to be done and Konrad explained the family would install the flooring required by the nature of the tenant's businesses.

The storefronts have been remodeled with the possibility of adding a door to join more than one together, if needed by a tenant.

Although they did not say what the rental fees were, Agnes said they are willing to negotiate.

The building has a new electrical service and a new heating system.

Upstairs, workmen were busy finishing the renovations to the offices. With hard wood trim and frosted glass windows and doors, the offices look as if they were a set from a 1940s hard-boiled detective film. Agnes said her father, who has been in charge of the renovations, "has preserved everything."

With new paint, new restrooms, and the hardwood floors refinished, most of the offices are ready for tenants. The Wargulewskis have one tenant so far, and Agnes said the rental fee is $1 to $1.50 per square foot depending upon the location.

The building does not have an elevator at this time, and is not required to have one, according to Building Inspector Joseph Viamari.

The Rivoli, when it re-opens will have a capacity for 1,480 people. The facility will have a second floor mezzanine and Konrad explained that is why the excavation took place: to prepare a place for the footings to hold the second floor structure.

There will also be a VIP lounge that will hold 88 people in the plans he showed the mayor.

Konrad clearly wants the new theater to reflect its past. The poster boxes will be refinished and used again. He will install 215 permanent seats and they will be part of the theater's original 1,280 seats. He has restored the theater's ticket booth, which was tightly wrapped with cloth and tape. Pointing to a water fountain, he said that would stay as well.

He has removed the vintage movie projector and had it refurbished as well.

Although the ceiling has been removed, the theater's trademark stars are still there and will be retained, he said.