A newly renovated 400-seat theater will open later this month in downtown Gardiner, the culmination of 40 years of fundraising, planning and dreaming by a group dedicated to bringing the theater back to life.

Johnson Hall Opera House is undergoing the finishing touches on a four-year renovation project.

Construction began in 2020 on the exterior, with interior repairs in 2022.

“We are perilously close to reopening this space after a very long time,” said Michael Miclon, executive director at Johnson Hall.

For downtown business owners, the theater offers the potential to draw 400 visitors to the city on event nights, raising the hopes of art gallery owners and restaurants, said Gardiner Main Street Executive Director Tamara Whitmore.

“We’re hoping to bring in more restaurants,” she said. “We’re hoping people come early to a show to see the stores, art galleries and to have dinner.”

In 1985, a group of volunteers bought the building with the intention of bringing the third-floor opera house space back to life. They completed work on a first floor 117-seat theater but were not successful with raising the funds needed for major repairs to the high-ceilinged opera house.

Miclon came aboard as executive director in 2013 and three years later, they launched a capital campaign for what they thought would be a $4 million project.

It’s now well over $9 million, thanks to pandemic-era delays, supply chain issues and rising costs, Miclon said.

“Luckily we’ve ended up with an absolutely stunning building,” he said.

Among the features is a state-of-the-art sound system that Miclon believes will result in one of the best sounding rooms in Maine, if not New England. The massive third floor theater needed a major overhaul and the work included adding an elevator, renovating the lobby, new restrooms and a green room for performers.

The work represents the next phase of life for a building that began as a livery stable for a nearby hotel in 1864. Hotel owner Benjamin Johnson decided to convert the space into an entertainment hall, eventually opening an opera house in 1888.

In the late 1920s, the opera house was converted to a movie theater, which closed in the 1950s.

Since then, the third-floor original opera house — with brand new theater seats and a balcony — sat empty.

That all changes March 26 when the Robert Cray Band takes the stage, followed by former Men at Work lead singer Colin Hay on April 9 and Shawn Colvin and KT Tunstall on April 23.

Miclon said more acts will be added as they are confirmed.

Many locals are excited for the new theater to open, with Whitmore saying that many people are volunteering to help with the launch of the new venue.

“We’re just so excited,” she said. “It’s been such a long time coming.”