Panida moves forward on lobby renovation project

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

The Panida Board voted on Feb. 6 to move forward with a renovation project that would bring changes to the lobby of the historic theater.

“We’ve had three workshops and an open house, and I feel like everybody here has had a chance to tell us what they think,” Board President Sean Behm said at the meeting.

Behm wished to quash any rumors that the process to renovate the main theater lobby was “rushed,” saying that the initial discussion on the project took place in 2008, with drawings made in 2011.

“We’re interested in what is best for the long-term vision of the Panida,” he said. “What we want to do at this time is move forward with the next phase of this project.”

Panida Board President Sean Behm shows community members schematics for various main lobby renovation designs. Photo by Ben Olson.

The Panida hosted an open house in January, comparing four plans to redesign the lobby, which can become congested — especially on busy performance nights. The plans called for anywhere from minor adjustments to a full-blown connection between the Little Theater and the main lobby. 

After gathering feedback from the community, the board has set its sights on two potential plans. 

The first would move the concessions from its existing area on the north side of the lobby to the east wall against the theater wall. The bar would move into the retail space to the north, where the Museum Guild was formerly located. The second plan would see the wall between the main lobby and Little Theater opened up to connect the two spaces. Concessions and the bar would move into the Little Theater and the main lobby would be empty, except for bathroom and theater entrances.

Behm said multiple issues might alter those two designs, so nothing is set in stone. The board voted unanimously on three motions to begin the process of evaluating costs and design specifications for each of the plans, but wouldn’t commit to either plan until more information is available.

The board voted to obtain a construction cost estimate for both plans with Boden Architecture. Members also voted to engage with architect Shannon Sardell for a consultation on the design concept and interior finish needed to meet requirements from the State Historic Preservation Office. 

“Plan 2 is a long-term vision and it was dramatically favored by our feedback,” Behm said. 

The board also voted to separate the lobby redesign process from the relocation of the women’s bathroom, so that the two projects weren’t conflated. The board elected to procure design work and examine codes to relocate the women’s bathroom into the retail space south of the lobby, which would create a new bathroom for women without affecting the historic facade of the building.

Behm said the board’s first priority is to maintain the historic significance of the Panida during this project.

“I’ve been told that the Panida is a rare theater in Idaho that’s never been touched,” he said. “Most other theaters in this state have been altered. … We want to make sure that if we expand the lobby into the Little Theater, it’s clearly not part of the original [main] lobby. They’ll be two separate and distinct places, they’ll just be connected.”

The board hopes for more clarification on a definite plan forward by summertime.