The question of which arts organizations are most likely to one day use the city of Denver’s reimagined Loretto Heights theater complex will become a bit more clarified after the next public informational meeting is held this week.

Denver Arts & Venues Executive Director Ginger White-Brunetti is inviting local cultural organizations to bring their questions, curiosities and possibilities to a 90-minute community meeting at 5 p.m. Thursday, July 13, at All Saints Church at 2559 S. Federal Blvd.

Many cultural groups already have shown an initial interest in the refurbished, $40 million May Bonfils Stanton Theater (as it is presently known), as well as its second, smaller performing space that opened in 1963 on the former Loretto Heights College campus at 3001 S. Federal Blvd.

At 1,000 seats, the main theater will fill a unique niche in the city’s cultural ecology once it reopens at the end of 2026. Denver arts presenters offer many venues that are significantly larger than 1,000 seats, and dozens more that are smaller. But few if any hit that 1,000-seat sweet spot and are available for more than concerts.

“The Denver Philharmonic is a great example of an organization that has expressed interest in performing at Loretto Heights,” said White-Brunetti, who added that the disability-affirmative Phamaly Theater Company “would be a tremendous organization to have there, and hopefully thrive there.”

Barry Osborne, community marketing manager for Swallow Hill Music, confirmed that a team led by Chief Operating Officer Jessy Clark has toured the space “and is intrigued by the possibilities.”

White-Brunetti said Swallow Hill could be an ideal community partner because it is a music organization that is committed not only to concerts, but also to classes and community. 

Her mantra is to remind people that Loretto Heights is a neighborhood, and the city’s ideal partners will be, essentially, new neighbors themselves. And she’d like those partners to think of cultural possibilities beyond concerts, plays and recitals – especially given the availability of an adjacent library.

“When I think about what the library space offers, I’m thinking about summer camps and afterschool programs for kids in the neighborhood, or possibly senior housing,” White-Brunetti said.

“What I wonder is, ‘What are those potential user groups going to want and need?’” Loretto Heights, she added, is an opportunity to advance both cultural equity and access, while also restoring an important part of Denver’s history.

“So, before we start booking the calendar with events, I want people to imagine what it means to have a family living there with a 2-year old and a kindergartner. How can what we do with that theater address their needs?”

This is all speculation at this juncture, but she imagines a music library where you might, say, check out a guitar from the library and take a lesson on the spot, perhaps through a cultural partner like Swallow Hill.

“We are open to all kinds of ideas, but I really hope that what organizations propose and what we try to cultivate are things that serve not only the existing community, but also the new neighbors who will be moving into this new development, which is going to be pretty diverse in and of itself.”

All of which will make programming Loretto Heights very different from any of the city’s other venues, which include Red Rocks, the Denver Performing Arts Complex, Denver Coliseum, Colorado Convention Center and McNichols Civic Center Building. 

Arts & Venues has assumed leadership of smaller venues in the past with the purest intent of making them accessible and cost-effective for smaller arts groups. But the best of intentions can be easily sidetracked by contracts, union requirements and other costs.

White-Brunetti knows the biggest question she is going to get from local cultural groups next week is going to be, “Will it be affordable for us?”

The city has 2½ years to figure out how it can be.