Organizers of the Triumvirate Theatre’s rebuilding efforts are delaying breaking ground on the project while they continue to fundraise for the facility, Executive Director Joe Rizzo said.

Rizzo said Monday the theater is still waiting on about $3 million in funding from both community donations and any of the nearly 30 grants the organization has applied for.

During last week’s regular Kenai City Council meeting, Rizzo said he would need a land donation extension.

“We are not going to be able to break ground by this coming summer,” he said at the council meeting. “A lot of these large foundations that we’re applying to are going to take some time to consider our proposal.”

The playhouse was destroyed in a fire last February, and in July the Kenai City Council unanimously voted to donate a parcel of land to Triumvirate. The parcel, by Daubenspeck Family Park in Kenai, is approximately 2 acres.

The new theater is projected to cost around $4.7 million. Rizzo said Triumvirate has secured $1.7 million so far.

“For capital campaigns we can’t really do anything until we maximize as many donations as we can get,” he said at the council meeting. “So our hope is that by September we’ll pretty much have a really good idea of how close to the $4.7 million we are, which is our target.”

Rizzo said he’s hoping to break ground on the new theater in 2023.

Reach reporter Camille Botello at camille.botello@peninsulaclarion.com.

Triumvirate Theatre is seen on Monday, Feb. 22, 2021 in Nikiski, Alaska. The building burned in a fire on Feb. 20. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)