The Hill Arts, 76 Congress Street, Formerly the St. Lawence Congregational Church, on Munjoy Hill in Portland..

A Theater Addition by Architect David Lloyd Founder of Archetype Architects was Approved by the City Back in 2013.

The Hill Arts, formerly the St. Lawrence Congregational Church, announced today that it needs $7 million to build its 400-seat theater by the end of this year or the project will not survive.  That’s because the current permits will expire.  “The window to move this project forward is closing,” said the executive director Deirdre Nice, in a press release issued today.

“The design, which we advanced and developed through exhaustive planning, depends on these approvals.  Starting over, amid rising construction costs and new city requirements, would be financially and logistically not possible.  If the organization does not raise this critdical funding, the project dies.  This is our Hail Mary.  The Hill Arts cannot keep managing a major construction project without knowing where the remaining funds will come from.  Although we have raised millions, one obstacle we have faced is publicizing this project to a larger pool of donors who fund major arts and communty projects.  We know there are donors who would love the opportunty to make this happen and we need them now,” Nice’s statement said.

The Hill Arts board, staff and a long list of community partners believe this space will be transformative for the arts community in Portland, the Creative Economy and will be instrumental in strenghening the programming and bottom lines of performng arts groups.  Everyone is very excited about the readiness of the project and the support it has received to date.

Now the project just needs $7 million to make this come true.

For extensive background information on this many year project, please visit posts herein dated June 20, 2025, June 7, 2023 and August 10, 2010 herein..