Former Oak Cliff Church Will Soon Open as Performing Arts Center

Todd and Lola Lott are restoring a nearly 90-year-old church to become the arts center of their dreams.

Built in 1929, the Winnetka Congregational Church is being restored and transformed into a for-profit arts center that will provide space for theater companies.

After two years of zoning battles with the city, owners Todd and Lola Lott are getting closer to opening the arts center of their dreams.

Arts Mission Oak Cliff will launch this spring and will host workshops, classes, offer studio space for technical theater, costume, and set design. In addition, there will be a full kitchen, available for cooking classes, a yoga and dance studio, and even a sound booth. 

The husband-and-wife duo purchased the building in 2015 because they wanted to invest in a “legacy project,” and the church was perfect, Todd Lott told the Oak Cliff Advocate Magazine

“Todd and Lola are patron saints,” actor, director, and teacher Anastasia Munoz said to Advocate. “They’re independent investors who stayed the course. They’re truly rooted and invested in this.”

The couple is working to restore the building to be historically accurate in order to qualify for historic tax credits. The project is expected to cost about $600,000.


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