After two years of planning, fundraising and construction delays, a long-awaited performing arts center in downtown Glen Cove is closer to becoming a reality, thanks to a $100,000 grant that is helping transform a former hardware store into a venue for live entertainment.
The funding, awarded by the Long Island Real Estate Group, has helped advance renovations at 19 Glen St., where construction had stalled for several months because of funding shortages. Organizers hope to complete construction by the end of the year and begin welcoming audiences in early 2027.
The Glen Cove Performing Arts Center will provide a permanent home for North Shore Village Theatre and Jazz Hands Children’s Theatre while bringing concerts, comedy shows and other performances to the city’s downtown.
Christopher Moll, the center’s artistic director, said substantial construction progress has been made over the past two months.
The audience risers have been constructed, the bar and box office have been framed, and the bathrooms are ready for fixtures. The sprinkler system has also been updated, while work on the building’s facade and rear extension is beginning.
The theater will feature 80 seats, with room for roughly 20 additional flexible seats. The project also received a donation of audience seating from Harlem’s historic Apollo Theater.
City Councilwoman Danielle Fugazy Scagliola, who helped secure the grant, said organizers are approaching the amount needed to obtain occupancy approval.
“We’re very, very close to enough money to get occupancy,” she said. “And once we get occupancy, then there’s going to be other things that we’re going to do to enhance the space, but they’re not necessary to get the place open.”
Fugazy Scagliola first applied for funding from the Long Island Real Estate Group last year but was unsuccessful. She submitted another application alongside Moll this year, emphasizing the theater’s potential to become a community gathering place.
Fugazy Scagliola said she initially doubted the application would succeed because previous recipients included prominent institutions such as Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Northwell.
“We have these apartments, we have people moving into Glen Cove, but we need places that build community,” she said. “We need places that people want to be.”
She said downtown revitalization requires more than housing and retail establishments, particularly as shopping habits increasingly shift online.
“Something like a theater is not something you get online,” Fugazy Scagliola said. “So that is like the kind of thing that will build community. It makes people go out.”
The application ultimately secured the organization’s maximum $100,000 award, which will go toward the overall construction of the facility.
Cara Cronin, co-president of LIREG, said the organization supports projects that have a lasting impact on the surrounding community.
Founded more than 20 years ago, the group brings together commercial real estate professionals while supporting charitable projects involving property improvements and community development.
“We get a lot of submissions, and we always want to look at what our impact going to be.” Cronin said. “Is this going to be something that is still five, six years down the line?”
Cronin said the organization’s decision was influenced by the possibility that its contribution could help the theater begin operating..
The organization has previously supported projects including a playground at Sunrise Day Camp and bathroom renovations at the Safe Center, but Cronin said this was its first theater project.
Property owner Bruce Waller, of GW Development, agreed to a 10-year lease for the theater space. His family has been involved in Glen Cove real estate for more than 150 years.
Waller purchased the building from Charles Hardware, which closed in 2020, and initially considered converting the vacant property into a restaurant. Those plans changed when Fugazy Scagliola introduced him to Moll and suggested developing a theater.
Waller said the building’s high ceilings, layout and proximity to public parking made it suitable for live performances.
Although North Shore Village Theatre and Jazz Hands Children’s Theatre will make the center their permanent home, Moll emphasized that the space will also be available to other organizations and types of performers.
“We’re going to have the space open for bands if they want to perform a night or two,” Moll said. “We’re going to plan dance parties with DJs where people can just come and have a good time.”
Those interested in supporting the Glen Cove Performing Arts Center can make donations through Zeffy by visiting NSVillagetheatre.com. Contributions will help support the theater’s continued development as organizers work toward opening the venue.
