The most exciting development for us this month is the fact that we now have access to Ruth Moss's apartment above the marquee that will allow us to begin the remodel of a new one-bedroom space next door. Both will be great additions to the available rentals in the heart of downtown and we have had lots of interest in them.

• Meanwhile we continue to take advantage of open retail ceilings to access and replace corroded 2nd floor plumbing. It is a major task since the pipes were encased in concrete and covered with beautiful ceramic tile. The historic tile will be gone but we will have water and sewer pipes once again... not sewer "troughs".

• Framing has begun on the new mall corridor and arched entries from 2nd Avenue and Broadway as well as the first floor restroom areas. Stairs are in toward the rear of the hallway/theater that will lead to the downstairs office, green room, dressing rooms and restrooms for managers and performers.

• Councilman Shoots Vies arranged a movie event with the America Society of Civil Engineers for Friday, the 24. We thank him for presenting the informative film on our crumbling water infrastructure and also the opportunity to try out the venue for this kind of event. Oh... and we especially thank him for the Billings Engineers Club generous donation to the theater restoration!

Last Monday drafting students from MSU-B College of Technology presented their virtual 3-D model of the Babcock, the result of a semester of hard work on their part. We hope to use their model in the facade restoration phase as well as in the marketing of the theatre and retail spaces.

It has been just over 2 weeks since our group purchased the Babcock Building and all of us have been very "hands-on" since that time. Following are just a few of the projects now underway.

• Electrical upgrades have been made to the theater to improve energy efficiency and make it a safer and more attractive venue. Front windows are washed and the unique ticket booth cleaned up.

• Contractors are prepared to begin work on the restoration of the stage depth upon approval of the project by the City Building Department. Preliminary work has been done to prepare for removal of the wall, including the re-use or recycling of materials.

• A roofing contractor has been engaged to schedule removal of gravel piles and installation of the new roof. We hope to have this completed this fall. The good news is that the barrel roof over the theater is in good shape and we are able to install the new roof over the old one without a lot of tear-off.

• With the help of a lift we were able to expose a small portion of the 2nd storey brick facade and are now looking at bids for removal of all of the "green" metal facing. We were most excited to find some of the original terra cotta architectural elements for the façade in the upper reaches of the theater! These will be most helpful in the design of the restoration. Some are now displayed in an empty storefront on Broadway.

• Thursday Night Fights continue but we were also pleased to host a small reception this week as Artspace launched a survey regarding the need for live/work space for area artists.

We are moving forward with the restoration of The Babcock Building and Theatre. During the last couple of weeks we have been hard at work on the following:

• It is expected that the asbestos removal in the basement will be completed tomorrow. The area has been blocked and tented from the rest of the building for the last couple of weeks. We are pleased that this aspect of the renovation has come in on budget and the removal will allow us to move forward with other projects.

• The firewall between the expanded stage and Broadway retail space is complete and painted. It makes us feel as if we have a back curtain (something we are actively seeking!).

• The re-roofing is nearly complete. The final finishing of the parapet wall will be integrated with the facade restoration. This has allowed us to move forward on the rental of more of the 2nd floor apartments. We have seen some real interest in this type of downtown space.

• Soft Touch Designs has worked with sub-contractors to fill in the space on the stage left by the old stage wall and should have the floor completed within the next couple of weeks. Last Friday night we were able to host the Senior High Choir, The Dance Factory and flutist Randell during the Christmas Stroll. No bloody knees or feet resulted so we feel the half-finished stage worked well.

• As always, we continue to clean and put together a list of volunteers to help in the Babcock Theatre restoration.