Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette The Hill Community Development Corp. is hoping to convert the upper floors of the New Granada Theater in the Hill District into loft apartments. Click photo for larger image.

In its heyday, the New Granada Theater in the Hill District and its Savoy Ballroom sizzled with hot jazz from the likes of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Lena Horne.

The music stopped a long time ago. And now the only sounds emanating from the four-story brick and terra cotta structure are the creaks and groans of a building sliding further into disrepair.

But the Hill Community Development Corp., a nonprofit neighborhood improvement group, is working to change that. The Hill CDC is hoping to return the boarded-up building to some of its former grandeur, first by giving it some stability and then by adding some hot licks of its own.

Andrea Wright-Banks, Hill CDC executive director, said the agency would like to convert the upper floors of the old theater into loft apartments. She said such housing seems to be a good match for the building, on Centre Avenue across from the Hill District police station.

The CDC also is looking for ways to restore the building's artistic edge, perhaps by offering space on the ground floor for artists who rent loft apartments to exhibit their artwork.

Other possibilities include additional retail space, a new theater and office space, Wright-Banks said.

"I think people can see the vision of what the building looked like and could look like if we cleaned it up and make sure it does not deteriorate again," she said.

Wright-Banks said several private developers, both within and outside the state, have expressed interest in redeveloping the site. The theater is next to state Rep. Jake Wheatley's Hill District office, a hair salon and the Hill District Federal Credit Union.

She stressed that before the CDC can seriously entertain proposals for the building, it first must secure its structural integrity.

The New Granada has been shuttered and neglected for decades. Part of the roof is missing. Windows and doors are boarded up. The reds, greens and yellows on the theater's facade and marquee have long since faded. Wright-Banks said at this point, there is nothing inside the building worth saving.

"It won't be a restoration; it will be a reconstruction," she said. "The interior of the building is not in great shape. Certainly there is nothing inside that can be salvaged."

The CDC now is in the process of assessing the theater's structural integrity and what must be done to shore it up. It is getting technical assistance from East Liberty Development Corp.

Once that is done -- and the CDC learns exactly what the old building can support -- the agency plans to put together a development plan and seek proposals from developers.

Wright-Banks hopes to have the building cleaned up and shored up by the end of the year. She said preliminary indications are that the theater is in "good shape" structurally.

By the time the CDC gets ready to redevelop the site, the building most likely will be a city historic structure.

The city planning commission last week recommended that the building get the designation, based on its rich jazz history and architectural relevance. The nomination, made by the Young Preservationists Association, now goes before City Council for final action.

Wright-Banks said the designation, which would protect the building's exterior, would not affect redevelopment plans. She said the Hill CDC supports the nomination.

"[The theater] has a great history. I'm sure if the walls could talk we'd all be blessed. I think it's one of the most historic buildings still standing in the Hill," she said.

The CDC purchased the theater in 1995. In 2000, developer Irv Williams proposed a makeover for the building that included a 400-seat banquet hall, a glass atrium, a courtyard and a third-floor supper club.

However, the proposal never got the backing of the city Urban Redevelopment Authority or city Councilman Sala Udin, a URA board member, and ended up going nowhere.