Oakland Theater Project is taking over the old site of the beloved Bay Area music venue The New Parish, which closed in December after hosting Kendrick Lamar, Mos Def, Kehlani, King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and so many other acclaimed acts during its roughly 15-year run on the local music scene.

The venue, located at 1743 San Pablo Ave. in Oakland’s Uptown Arts and Entertainment District, will become a new performing arts center that will serve as the home for the acclaimed theater company — which has performed in a variety of locations over the years.

Oakland Theater Project has signed a 10-year-lease to operate the old New Parish venue — but one that reportedly comes with “a pre-negotiated option to purchase.”

“Building a permanent home for the arts in the heart of Oakland is a dream nearly 15 years in the making,” says Colin Mandlin, Oakland Theater Project co-founder and managing director. “We are honored to continue the legacy of performance and community that this building has hosted for the last 50 years and serve the many Oakland artists that have had to travel to Berkeley or San Francisco to find suitable performance spaces.

“Our work at Oakland Theater Project is a love letter to the city we call home and seeks to celebrate and further the long-standing history of risk-taking and innovation by social and cultural leaders. We want Oakland artists to perform in Oakland and be at the forefront of revitalizing downtown Oakland. By investing in the people and ideas that make this city a cultural destination, we will create jobs, stimulate spending, and attract visitors from all over the Bay Area.”

Organizers say that the move will help fill the void for mid-sized performance spaces in Oakland and the theater company will be looking to “expand community-building programs that currently include literary salons, film and book clubs, speaker series, adult classes, and youth education programs, while creating opportunities for smaller-scale multidisciplinary performances, film screenings, dinners and other events,” according to a news release.

Oakland Theater Project plans to partner with a local music promoter as well as other arts organizations to book the venue.

“Oakland’s cultural legacy depends on artists having room to create what comes next,” said City of Oakland Cultural Affairs Manager Lyz Luke. “Small and mid-sized spaces are critical to that: places where emerging talent can find an audience, artists can experiment, and work can be bold before it’s commercially proven. Oakland Theater Project’s new home is an investment in the creative edge that makes this city legendary.”

Plans for the 13,000-square-foot property include a range of performance and gathering spaces, including a main theatre, a second smaller studio theater, backstage spaces and an expanded marquee lobby, bar and outdoor courtyard,” according to a news release.

The renovation of the space is expected to take place in two phases.

First off, Oakland Theater Project will focus on prepping the space for performances to begin in 2027. This includes adding new mechanical systems and upgraded lighting/audiovisual infrastructure.

Then, down the road, a second phase would “undertake a more extensive transformation of the main theatre, including significant modifications to the existing mezzanine and the creation of a more permanent three-sided thrust stage and balcony configuration, ultimately increasing the venue’s seated event capacity to approximately 200 seats while preserving the ability to host standing room only events and an unusually close relationship between performers and audiences for both,” according to a news release.

All of this would potentially result in another real showplace for the performing arts in the East Bay.

“The arts are part of the fabric of Oakland,” adds Congresswoman Lateefah Simon. “Our artists carry the memory of this town and make room for the people coming up behind them, and Oakland deserves more spaces where that work is out loud and in the open.”