Kenny Bonus, a member of the Penn Theater Performance Company, shared the organization's goals with around 30 people at an open forum Wednesday at the Grand Ballroom on Main Street.

Bonus wants to see people eat at a downtown restaurant, catch a show at the theater, and maybe go to a brewery on Main Street afterward.

“To have that right here on our Main Street is what we're looking for,” he said.

The company's members answered questions about the state of the theater, the company's goals, and the possibility of the Woda Group buying the property.

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Woda, a Columbus, Ohio-based development organization, is interested in purchasing the property from the Redevelopment Authority of Butler County.

The authority purchased the building in 2009 with a loan of $290,000 from the Pittsburgh Historical Landmark Foundation. The loan is in default.

Performance company member Nicole Thurner-Kievit said her organization is in talks with the authority to buy the theater.

“With our discussions with (the authority), I think they're also looking to see what the best interests of the community are,” Thurner-Kievit said.

She also spoke of the potential purchase by Woda, which wants to turn the property into affordable housing for senior citizens.

“(Woda's service is) extremely needed and it's a good cause, but only in the right areas,” Thurner-Kievit said.

The performance company wants to make its transaction a lease-to-buy deal.

In this scenario, the company would lease the property for a set number of years, with a portion of the rent money going toward a down payment for purchase. After the lease period is up, the company would purchase the building.

Concerned residents wondered about the cost of renovation. Company Chairman Dane Winkler said inspections have already been done and the cost to renovate and revitalize is estimated at $1 million. Currently, the company has raised $15,000.

The theater seats a total of 612 people, and Winkler said the stage would be replaced.

Bonus said the theater would be used for live music, movie screenings, open microphone and comedy nights and live theater.

“This would not just be the board's theater,” he said. “It's the community's theater.”

Steven Gifford, executive director of the Community Development Corporation of Butler County, attended the forum and spoke to the crowd.

He noted that The Palace Theatre in Greensburg brings in $6.6 million annually for that city. This includes theatergoers who augment their trips with stays at hotels and restaurants.

“(The corporation) is anxious to have downtown become a better version of itself,” Gifford said.

Audrianna Bly, a representative of Marriott Springhill Suites, which is being built on McKean and Jefferson streets, also was in attendance.

“We are really looking forward to the Penn Theater being revitalized to give our guests something to do,” she said.

One resident asked if the building had been appraised. Winkler said that the company approached three local appraisers with knowledge of the building.

He said all three denied the request to appraise the building because, in the theater's current state, no comparison could be made to a similar building to formulate an accurate value.

City resident Bill May cautioned that Butler not repeat its actions regarding the Nixon Hotel in the 1970s. He said the hotel was torn down, only for a new one to be currently under construction.

May doesn't want to see that happen with the theater. “A piece of this puzzle in downtown Butler that is missing is the Penn Theater being up and running,” he said.