The group focused on rehabilitating Butler's Penn Theater says it plans to hold a public forum next week to discuss the building's future.

The Penn Theater Performance Company said Friday that it plans to hold the meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at The Grand Ballroom on Main Street.

“Our five-member board is dedicated to the cause of re-opening this theater and being the shot in the arm that the downtown community needs and deserves,” the group said in an email statement. “The revitalization is already in place and our efforts would accelerate the great work already completed by so many others.”

The group's announcement comes a day after city officials revealed that they have been in talks with the Woda Group, an Ohio-based development company, over the sale of the theater.

The Redevelopment Authority of the City of Butler said in its own news release Thursday that Woda had made a recent offer to buy the theater, but that “several issues need to be resolved before any public action by the Redevelopment Authority.”

The authority purchased the theater in 2009, but the building has remained vacant and in need of repairs. The performance company, a nonprofit that was officially formed last November, has been working to raise money to refurbish the theater and turn it into a cultural hub for acting, music and other events.

The performance group said Friday that it plans to continue holding its own meetings with the authority, and plans to have three more between now and July “in an effort to come to an agreement with the theater.”

“We intend to work along with them to help with both of their goals while achieving ours as well,” the group said. “If we find a way to do this the community will benefit.”