Goodwill Theatre Receives Nearly $5 Million from NYSCA for Major Expansion and Firehouse Restoration

The Goodwill Theatre in Johnson City has been awarded nearly $5 million by the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) to support the restoration of the adjacent 1899 firehouse and the construction of a three-story addition to its historic venue.

The new addition will create lobbies with bathrooms on each floor, as well as an elevator and an additional stairwell. The project will allow public access to the second and third floors for the first time, and provide a new entrance for the Firehouse Stage on the first floor. Plans call for a new 300-seat theater, the Rooftop Playhouse, to open on the third floor. The second floor will house the theater’s offices and a multi-purpose room for rehearsals, trainings, and educational programs.

According to Goodwill CEO Naima Kradjian, the grant is intended to make the arts more accessible to local residents.

“In our community, there are a lot of people who come to the Firehouse because it’s affordable and because they can’t go out of town to go see things. They can’t pay that higher price. So, that is what we do, so we want to do more of that,” Kradjian said.

The expanded first-floor entrance will also allow the Schorr Family Firehouse Stage to increase capacity to 200 seats. Overall, the combined capacity of the venue will rise by 400 percent, and the bar and lounge area will also be enlarged.

The Goodwill Theatre will launch a capital campaign to raise the necessary matching funds for the project. The organization has three years to use the state grant, and Kradjian noted that it will be at least a year before any construction work begins.

The Roberson Museum and Tri-Cities Opera were also named as recipients of NYSCA capital improvement grants.

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