AUBURN — A deal giving Community Little Theatre a 99-year lease for the former Great Falls School is all but signed.

Councilors on Monday gave their blessing to a $1 lease giving the theater group control of the eastern portion of the building. The city also agreed to demolish the older western portion of the building.

Economic Development Director Roland Miller put current estimates for the work at $350,000.

“Now the work begins,” said Karen Mayo, Community Little Theatre president. “We’re a community-based group, so making this lease really work depends on us getting community support. That’s what we need to concentrate on now.”

First, Mayo said she hopes to schedule a formal lease-signing between the city and the theater group in the next few weeks.

Then, the city will begin taking bids from contractors to demolish the western portion. She expects that could begin sometime in September.

The theater group is planning to relocate its operation during the work. Their fall production, “Cinderella,” is scheduled for early November.

“The work certainly could be done before that, but it would almost certainly be too close for comfort,” she said.

Councilors had good things to say about the deal. It  leases the space to the theater group for $1 per year through 2110. The city plans to preserve the eastern portion of the building, home to the theater and its costume storage space, the gym, a handful of artists and exercise spaces and vacant offices.

“It took us nine months to get to this point and to accomplish what we have,” Councilor Mike Farrell said.

City officials have been discussing the fate of the building since November, when the City Council voted to move all tenants out of the building this month and knock it down in June. That spurred renewed talks among the theater group and the building’s other tenants.

According to the draft of the lease, the theater group will be in charge of all heating, utilities, snowplowing and repairs once the demolition on the western half  is complete. They will pay property taxes to the city and can sublet spaces.

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