Press release
BATAVIA, NY – The Batavia Development Corporation is pleased to announce a New York Main
Street Anchor Grant award in the amount of $417,000 for the Batavia Players Inc., Main Street
Theater 56 project.
The Batavia Development Corporation and Batavia Players, Inc. were successful in being
awarded a New York Main Street Anchor Grant through the Housing Trust Fund Corporation
and the Office of Community Renewal to assist the Main Street 56 Theater project.
Batavia Players, a not-for-profit organization for over 80 years is the longest continuing
regional theater company in New York State. The Mission of the Batavia Players, Inc. is to
bring affordable theater to the community by making theater accessible to everyone with a
variety of quality productions that enhance artistic growth of participants and encourage
audiences to think, feel and develop an appreciation for theater.
“The new Main Street 56 Theater project and our Board of Directors are humbled and very
appreciative of this grant. We have all been heartened by the continued support for this
project which will genuinely affect our downtown community and the City Centre property in
such a positive manner. This will allow us to build a beautiful, state of the art facility in our city
as well as continue to bring many visitors and theater patrons to see our performances and
support other downtown businesses. We could not be more excited with this new
development. Our project has been blessed by the support of a lot of people who genuinely
care and have been with us from the start. I would like to thank City Manager Rachael Tabelski,
the City of Batavia, the Batavia Development Corporation and all of our partners for their
ongoing dedication to our project.” said Patrick Burk, President and Executive Director of the
Batavia Players
The Main Street 56 Theater and the Main Street 56 Dance Company will occupy a vacant and
underutilized space in the City Centre. The City of Batavia and the Batavia Players will
rehabilitate approximately 14,000 Sq. Ft. of tiered space into the state-of-the-art performing
One City Centre
Batavia, NY 14020
Office: 585-345-6380
Fax: 585-343-8182
www.BataviaDevelopmentCorp.orgarts center, educational facilities, dance, and set development with a Main Street entrance at 35 Batavia City Centre.
This project will leverage grant funding from the Downtown Revitalization Initiative Grant program and the New York Main Street Anchor Grant program.
“The BDC has proven successful in obtaining grant funds to continue to revitalize the City’s
commercial hub. Delivering the Main Street Anchor Grant for the Main Street 56 Theater
project is another example of City and BDC working together to deliver on the Downtown
Revitalization Initiative (DRI) goals of arts and culture for the City,” said Eugene Jankowski, Jr.
City of Batavia Council President.
In alignment with the Batavia Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) Investment Strategy the
Batavia Players will foster and promote more arts, culture, entertainment, healthy living,
wellness and prosperity. Filling vacant and underutilized structures has been a common goal
across many of Batavia’s planning efforts as identified by the Brownfield Opportunity Area and
The City’s Comprehensive Plan.
“There are many catalytic and complimentary projects happening in our downtown and this is
one of the many. Projects like Main Street 56 Theater will create more vibrancy, help increase
commerce overall, and will deliver a better quality of life. We are thankful to New York State,
the Office of Community Renewal and Homes and Community Renewal, along with all the other
New York State agencies that continue to invest in the revitalization of Batavia.” said Andrew
Maguire, Director of Economic Development for the Batavia Development Corporation.
“The Batavia Development Corporation excited to be awarded this New York Main Street
Grant. The New York Main Street Grant program is very competitive and the Batavia
Development Corporation continues to be successful in identifying and executing grant
opportunities that help projects, like the Batavia Player’s, for the betterment of our
community.” Said Lori Aratari, President of the Board of Directors for the Batavia Development
Corporation.
The Batavia Players, Inc. and Main Street 56 Theater consists of a dedicated group of
professionals and community members whom have brought theater and the performing arts to
our community. They are unique in New York State with their ambitious schedule of
performances while maintaining a high level of quality and diverse productions.
For more information regarding the Batavia Players Inc., Main Street 56 Theater and Main
Street 56 Dance Studio, please visit www.bataviaplayers.org .