Much of the building used as Franklin City Hall has been shut down for safety violations, the culmination of decades of discussion about the long-standing need for upgrades in the building.
The Union Leader reported that city officials believe the renovations could cost several million dollars.
The City Hall building is also the Franklin Opera House, which is used to put on local events and performances.
Dan Darling, executive director of a nonprofit that brings programming to the Franklin Opera House, said his group had started to reclaim the building space for local arts. They operated out of the basement of the building, which is one of the areas now closed by the fire chief.
“It really is major renovations and upgrades that have to occur, and that’s going to take time, and that’s going to take money,” Darling said.
Since safety citations closed the basement and the theater, Darling's group has been on the hunt for performance space.
Darling said problems with the building have existed for a while.
“It’s major work because there are fire safety violations that have been updated," he said. "For example, in 1919, the fire code was changed to require a smoke ventilator over the stage area. And that has never been done."
This is just one of many issues with the building, which opened in 1892 and still has wiring from its early days.
The Union Leader reported that the fire chief gave the city a year to get a building permit in place to fix the issues or they’d face citations. The July deadline passed without a permit.
But city officials have taken some steps to address the concerns. In February, the Franklin City Council approved money toward fixing issues with the building. The city also issued a request for proposals for a study of the building this spring. The Union Leader reported the city recently awarded a contract to an architecture firm.
Darling said city officials know how important the building is for the community.
“I’m confident that something will be done because there is a general feeling, I think, that this is an important and vital element of the community that has to be preserved,” he said.
