Osceola Arts will not present plays during the 2025-26 season as the Kissimmee nonprofit undergoes its first major renovation in nearly 60 years. Ultimately, about $16 million will be spent to refresh everything from the parking lot to the restrooms at the aging structure.

“It’s a little daunting,” said Osceola Arts chief operating officer Jeremiah Krivinchuk. “This is definitely the biggest investment in a cultural facility in Osceola County so we’re happy about that.”

The timing of the renovation was coordinated with the county’s plans to remake the venue’s parking lot, which would have been equally disruptive to patrons, Krivinchuk said. The property in front of the arts center, on U.S. 192 near the intersection with Florida’s Turnpike, was sold by Osceola Arts to the state years ago when the highway was widened and the state needed to dig a retention pond as part of that project.

The state recently passed the land to the county, which wants to make the area around the 1-acre pond more walking-friendly, Krivinchuk said, and a major redesign of the parking lot is part of that. The lot will expand from spots for 70 cars to accommodate 200 vehicles and include charging stations for electric vehicles.

An overhead-view rendering of the Osceola Arts campus in Kissimmee by SLAM shows how a pond will be made more walker-friendly. (Courtesy SLAM)

The first phase of the project will cost about $7.4 million, Krivinchuk said. The state will spend $4.5 million on the parking lot and landscaping work, while the nonprofit will spend $3 million on its two buildings. About $1 million is in the theater’s reserves, and pledges are being lined up for the remainder.

“We’re confident,” said Krivinchuk, as fundraising efforts continue for both phases of the work. Osceola Arts will introduce a naming-rights program to help raise money.

The project’s first phase will see major improvements to the campus’s main 12,000-square-foot building, inside and out.

“We’re basically gutting everything from the theater’s proscenium to the front door,” Krivinchuk said.

The lobby of the main Osceola Arts building will get a complete makeover during a yearlong renovation of the nonprofit’s Kissimmee campus, as shown in this rendering from the SLAM architectural firm. (Courtesy SLAM)

The theater will receive all-new seating, with easier accessibility. The revamped space, which currently seats 230, will likely be able to accommodate a few more theatergoers.

The venue’s distinctive small side stages will be retained but “reimagined,” Krivinchuk said.

Outside the theater’s auditorium, the lobby will get a complete revamp with a dedicated bar and concessions area. Restrooms will be expanded and made more easily accessible.

A new ramp will lead from the parking lot up to the main entrance, another improvement in accessibility.

“It will all make everything more comfortable for our patrons,” Krivinchuk said.

Out of view, the building’s antiquated wiring and plumbing will be replaced.

Critic’s Pick: ‘Anna in the Tropics’ is beautifully passionate about being human | Review

The smaller 5,000-square-foot building on the property also will be renovated, in part to make more space for the Young Actors Company programs and classes.

The exterior work is likely to be done by January, Krivinchuk said, and the building renovations will be completed by next summer, in time to start a 65th theater season in the fall of 2026.

Not everything will come to a halt while the campus is closed. The ArtIsNow mural program, throughout Kissimmee and St. Cloud, will continue. And though the onsite art galleries will be off limits, exhibits will continue at Kissimmee City Hall and county library branches.

Classes for homeschoolers and other students will continue, as well.

“These are all happening at offsite locations in Lake Nona and throughout Osceola County,” said Krivinchuk, adding the staff was exploring opportunites for pop-up theater and holding conversations about partnerships with entities such as the Rosen Jewish Community Center outside Lake Buena Vista.

“Nothing’s solidified just yet,” he said.

Following this initial phase of work would be a second part of the project: Construction of a new two-story, 10,000-square-foot building that would connect the two existing structures into one large complex.

That new space would mainly be for additional classrooms for the myriad Osceola Arts education programs. Krivinchuk said more space was “desperately needed” as the population grows and more young people show an interest in the arts.

Osceola Arts will get a redesigned and expanded parking lot as part of a yearlong renovation, as shown in this rendering from the SLAM architectural firm. (Courtesy SLAM)

The Osceola Arts buildings have failed to keep up with the explosive growth around them, Krivinchuk said.

“Back in the 1960s it was the only thing here,” he said. “It was orange groves and the center.”

Osceola Arts was founded in 1960 as the Footlight Theatre Guild and presented shows at Osceola High School. The organization was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1962, and opened its campus as the Osceola County Art & Culture Center on Sept. 7, 1969.

In 1990, it was renamed Osceola Center for the Arts, and then was rebranded as Osceola Arts in 2014.

Krivinchuk said the scope of the renovations would bring the organization up to date.

“If we have to do it, let’s do it right,” he said. “We’re excited to come back and hit the ground running.”

Follow me at facebook.com/matthew.j.palm or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. Find more entertainment news and reviews at orlandosentinel.com/entertainment or sign up to receive our weekly emailed Entertainment newsletter.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/09/04/osceola-arts-theater-closes-16-million-makeover/