Theater-goers probably don’t think about commercial real estate when they settle in to enjoy St. Louis Municipal Opera (Muny) musical productions every summer, but the industry is a vital element of the structure and continuing improvements at the iconic institution.
“The Muny has been adding onto and expanding for several years,” said Terry Denny, project manager at Bingman Construction Company, which has been working on a major project for the Muny since October 2023.
The project involves a “very large steel structure” with perforated translucent panels — a canopy for the back of the Muny’s Pavilion Stage area to give people more room to work and protect them from sun, rain and other weather conditions at the outdoor theater.
Photo courtesy of Bingman Construction Company
With this season’s production schedule set and tickets being made available, the project is well on track. “It’s almost at completion — the final inspection has been done,” Denny said. “We just have to finish the perforated panels, a design element developed to match the adjacent area.” Work included removing the original roof from the theater’s paint booth to install the panels.
The project was budgeted at about $1.5 million and should wrap up at $1.7 million, due primarily to a change in scope to ensure safety and permanence for the structure.
“The backstage area was built over the River Des Peres, so the soil was not the greatest — it wasn’t suitable to protect the piers that support the canopy,” Denny explained. “We had to drill down to the bedrock, so we needed extra materials.”
Like many recent commercial real estate projects, the supply chain was a factor in timing for this one: Steel procurement for the canopy took about a month longer than expected, he noted. “It also took a long lead time — until early this month — to receive the materials to create the canopy’s odd-shaped pieces that make up the translucent panels. There’s no way around such delays,” Denny said.
Working on an outdoor project can be a challenge in cold months, although this year’s mild winter was less of a factor than the weather could have been for this one. “It was actually not bad,” Denny said.
While substantial in scope and budget, the Muny panel will be essentially invisible to its public — a common aspect of commercial real estate projects. “None of the project is visible from the seats,” Denny said. “If you’re sitting in the crowd and looking at the stage, you can’t see behind the sets.”
Contractors included Bond Architects, led by designer Rebecca Kleba. The Muny’s Sean Smith, director of operations, and Tim McDonald in construction were important to its success, according to Denny.
The canopy “looks great and does what it’s supposed to do, so the Muny is very pleased,” he said. That was gratifying in and of itself: “You start with nothing there and create a large structure that anyone would be proud of,” Denny said.
But there’s more to it. For Bingman as a company and Denny as an individual, there’s something special about this project.
“The Muny is a St. Louis institution. It was a huge honor to work at the Muny. I was tickled to death — it was inspiring,” Denny said.
Photo(s) courtesy of Bingman Construction Company