The theater company wants to revamp the venue with a 200-seat theater and space for music, screenings and more.
Oct 23, 2026
Updated 1:17 pm PT
The New Parish in downtown Oakland on April 1, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)
Music fans who worried about the New Parish’s closure late last year can rest assured that the Oakland venue won’t be turning into condos. On Oct. 22, Oakland Theater Project announced that it was taking over the San Pablo Avenue space and converting it into a hub for theater, music and performing arts.
“Oakland is just a mecca of resilience — a passionate, incredible, diverse community — and it’s full of creatives and artists,” Oakland Theater Project Managing Director Colin Mandlin tells KQED. “So to be able to have people to share and present their work in their hometown … it’s going to be this kind of common-sense but also really celebratory and wonderful accomplishment.”
In the building’s new incarnation, Mandlin says the musical programming will include an eclectic array of local and touring artists. “We very much value the history of a space, both in terms of its cultural significance, as well as the physical building and attributes itself,” he says. “And the fact that this space has hosted musical events for decades is definitely something that we want to honor and continue.”