Grand Junction CMU Unveils Revamped Robinson Theatre

Key Points

• Colorado Mesa University’s (CMU) Moss Performing Arts Center and Robinson Theatre have undergone a $16.3 million renovation, reopening partiallafter winter break.
• Renovations include new HVAC system connected to CMU’s geothermal loop, soundproofing, fresh paint, new carpeting, reorganised rooms, and a new sprung stage floor in Robinson Theatre.
• Robinson Theatre, named after Professor William (Bill) Robinson, now features 400 seats (down from 580), filled orchestra pit, slat wood walls replacing loge seating, new offices, box office, and recording studios.
• Phased project began in May 2025 on the north end (music side), shifted to south end including Robinson Theatre; full completion expected by April 2026.
• Funding: $14.9 million from the state, remainder from CMU.
• New facilities: recording studio suite, two acting rehearsal rooms, design tech classroom/lighting lab, green room, dressing rooms, laundry, and bathrooms.
• Ongoing work: Sanders Dance Studio floor replacement, Love Recital Hall upgrades (acoustic baffling, sun-blocking), band room flooring.
• Student Isabelle Basham expressed surprise at changes: “It’s crazy to see where you’ve been the past three years, and suddenly, it’s different.”
• Interim music head William Aikens highlighted recording studio excitement and improved HVAC: “It was a different climate on one hallway to the next.”
• Interim theatre head Jill Van Brussel praised the new stage floor: “It was uneven, splintering, holes, very bad for actors and dancers.”
• Future use: Music department’s choir/band concerts in March; theatre’s “The Marriage of Bette and Boo” in April.
• Challenges: Flooding orchestra pit pre-renovation, dodgy HVAC, construction surprises for contractor FCI Constructors.

Grand Junction (Manchester Mirror) February 02, 2025 – Colorado Mesa University’s Moss Performing Arts Center and its iconic Robinson Theatre have emerged transformed after a comprehensive $16.3 million renovation, leaving students and faculty navigating a familiar yet strikingly renewed space on the first day of the spring semester.

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What Triggered the Renovation of CMU’s Moss Performing Arts Center?

As reported by Larry Robinson of The Daily Sentinel, the push for renovation stemmed from long-standing issues plaguing the facilities. Robinson Theatre, named for longtime performing arts professor William (Bill) Robinson and affectionately called “Bill’s House” by some, had endured nearly six decades of use for theatre, music, and dance by students and community groups.

Four years ago, officials noted irrigation water regularly flooding the orchestra pit and increasing stage disrepair, prompting initial plans to demolish and rebuild. That scheme was scrapped in favour of constructing Asteria Theatre, which opened in 2024. However, recent returns from winter break revealed Robinson and Moss in a fresh guise.

Phased work kicked off in May 2025 on the north end of Moss, as recalled by William Aikens, interim department head of the music programme and oboe instructor at CMU. “I remember it was the Monday or Tuesday after graduation, we had to have all of our stuff out of our offices because they were completely rebuilt,” Aikens said, per Larry Robinson’s coverage in The Daily Sentinel.

By the autumn semester start, north-end work was largely complete, though faculty, students, and workers coexisted amid shifts to the south end, including Robinson Theatre, according to Jamie Cox, CMU capital projects manager.

How Extensive Were the Behind-the-Scenes Upgrades in Moss?

The building shut fully from mid-December until last week, with renovations set to continue into spring and wrap by April 2026. Visible changes like new carpeting—“We’ve never had carpet in this building before,” noted senior theatre design and tech major Isabelle Basham—pair with critical hidden upgrades.

Cox detailed in an email, as quoted by Larry Robinson in The Daily Sentinel: “While the wish list for the building was extensive, much of the work required to make this transition had to occur behind walls and above ceilings. As a result, nearly every space in the building was touched in some way to ensure the facility can operate more efficiently and reliably for decades to come.”

Central to this: a new HVAC system with a six-piece chiller, converted to heat pump-based and linked to CMU’s geothermal loop. Jill Van Brussel, associate professor of theatre-costume design and interim head of the theatre department, told Aikens: “I don’t know about your side, but on our side, the HVAC has always been pretty dodgy.” Aikens replied: “Oh it was bad,” citing temperature swings damaging instruments in the locker room. Van Brussel added: “It was a different climate on one hallway to the next. And so this is huge, probably the biggest part of the project.”

Funding totals $16.3 million, with $14.9 million state-appropriated and the rest from CMU, per Cox. This supports long-term energy savings.

What Challenges Did Contractors Face During Renovations?

“It ended up being an extremely challenging building for them to work in,” Van Brussel said of primary contractor FCI Constructors and subcontractors. “Once they opened things up, they found all kinds of weird things that had been retrofitted and were not as they were on the plan. So it’s been a really, really complicated project for them,” she explained, as covered by Larry Robinson in The Daily Sentinel.

What Visible Transformations Await in Renovated Robinson Theatre?

Entering Robinson Theatre left observers awestruck. “It kind of blows your mind,” Van Brussel remarked to Aikens, per The Daily Sentinel.

The loge seating and sound booth at the back are gone, replaced by slat wood walls, creating a more intimate 400-seat space from 580 originals. Walls shifted to deep brown from light grey, enabling full darkness. “They filled in the (orchestra) pit, because our pit was always flooding,” Van Brussel said. Aikens noted: “Which we don’t really need because Asteria’s got it and it’s a better setup.”

A standout: the new sprung stage floor. “Again, not a glamour project, but super important for us is a whole new stage floor. It was uneven, splintering, holes, very bad for actors and dancers. And now, there’s a whole new floor that is sprung, so it’s much friendlier to actor, dance bodies. That’s a huge thing,” Van Brussel enthused.

Acoustics and lighting infrastructure improved too. Former loge space now holds new offices, a box office with “surprising amount of depth,” and a suite of recording studios.

Why Are Faculty Excited About the New Recording Studios?

“I think I’m most excited to see the role that the recording studio can play for faculty and for students, because we could use that for anything from creative projects to promotional things to curricular things,” Aikens said. “I know there’s lots of energy about that.”

Off the lobby—now with cushioned benches replacing pews—the inconspicuous door revealed ongoing work: acoustic paneling that absorbs or reflects sound. “That’s the live room,” Aikens said of the largest space with a piano, fitting a full jazz band minus drums (in isolation). A control room connects via large windows.

“We’re still trying to wrap our heads around what now? What this room could be, what that could mean,” Aikens reflected. “My faculty are over the moon excited with it, with lots ideas. So we get to figure out a way to practically apply some of that.”

How Have Rooms Been Reorganised in Moss Performing Arts Center?

Van Brussel dubbed it “our new suite of stuff back here.” Faculty offices now occupy former laundry and makeup spaces: “So we’re finally able to get all our faculty in our building, because our adjuncts and our communication folks have been scattered all around.”

Behind the stage (scene shop relocated to Asteria), new HVAC housing, plus dressing rooms, green room, bathrooms, laundry clustered efficiently behind Robinson and the 125-seat Mesa Experimental Theatre (MET). “But this is a big thing. We have two acting rehearsal rooms,” Van Brussel said. “There was nowhere for them to rehearse things. So they were always in the lobby or tucked into corners. So now we have two rehearsal spaces that they can just sign up for and check out and use.”

A new design tech classroom doubles as a student lighting lab: “This is a new design tech classroom. You can see we’re still getting set up,” she said, navigating reoriented halls—even mistaking storage for the green room: “Oh, not the storage room. I’ve lost it. I’ve lost the green room.”

What Upgrades Are Coming to Recital Hall and Other Spaces?

Work persists on Sanders Dance Studio flooring and Love Recital Hall. Aikens quipped: “If you’ve ever been in Love Recital Hall when it’s like three in the afternoon and the sun is hitting the stage, and then you’re playing a game of like Dodge the Sun. Yeah, that should no longer be an issue.” Acoustic baffling will enhance sound control.

Soundproofing transformed music spaces: faculty offices no longer bleed notes; band room awaits flooring; practice rooms mostly reopen. “We’ve got all sorts of paneling and insulation built into the walls to where now I don’t hear¹ the trumpet lesson (in the office) next to me,” Aikens said. “We’re very excited about the changes. It’s been a headache to get through some of it, but it’s worth it.”

Basham admitted: “I have yet to look in Robinson,” amid broader surprises like walled-off doors and new hallways.

How Will Renovated Spaces Impact CMU Performances?

With Robinson and Love Recital Hall back, “it becomes finding a balance of what the right show is in the right space,” Aikens said, echoed by Van Brussel: “We can really pick the right space for the project now.”

Robinson suits productions too big for MET, not filling Asteria, needing formality: “It also gives us some capacity to have more than one thing going on at the time. Or maybe overlap some things. We’re always crammed for space in the calendar to fit in all the opportunities we want, so I think it just is going to give us some flexibility.”

Though seating shrank, “the look is a lot better and functionality is better,” Aikens noted. Music leads with choir and band concerts in early March; theatre follows with “The Marriage of Bette and Boo” in April.

Students like Basham pondered logistics: “A lot of theater students would usually hang out in the Robinson Theatre lobby. There was a good chunk of seating out there, and now the pews are gone and we’re like, where are we gonna sit and mingle? We’ll figure it out.”

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