Thornton's Larkridge Retail Center will get a 32,000 square-foot, 800 seat theater venue meant to showcase Broadway style musicals, plays, concerts and other entertainment events, the city officials announced.

Dave Clark, the owner and Executive Producer at The Candlelight in Johnstown, a 300-seat dinner theater, has begun the process of building the new entertainment venue at the Larkridge Retail Center at 168^th Avenue and Interstate 25. Clark is currently developing an 800-seat proscenium theater projected to open in Fort Collins in 2025.

Planning and Development on this project will take place over the next five years, according to an Aug. 31 Thornton press release.

The multi-use facility with a 32,000 SF design will include an 800 - 900 seat theater in the round venue.

Mayor Jan Kuhlmann said she's pleased to have the new venue planned for the city.

“For years, residents and those of us on city council have sought to have a performing arts space that would bring culture and entertainment opportunities to people in Thornton,” Kulmann said in the written statement. “We have worked together to create a vision for a well-deserved amenity for our residents which would also be a destination for people from throughout the Metro Area. The proposed facility and plan for Candlelight's new theatre is on a scale well beyond what we could have imagined or accomplished with taxpayer dollars alone. We look forward to this plan moving ahead and for the years of joy and memories it will provide.”