Two years after first sharing plans to demolish and rebuild its aging facility, Diamond Head Theatre is moving forward with community outreach and a nationwide search for an architect who specializes in performance venues.

After a 2007 building assessment commissioned by DHT determined a new building was needed, it took five more years once a site redevelopment plan was requested in 2009 for the theater group to make a public announcement and file a draft environmental assessment with the city Department of Planning and Permitting.

That draft was filed in November and tentatively accepted with a finding of no significant impact. A final environmental assessment must be accepted by the department before DHT can proceed with applications for a zoning height variance and Diamond Head Special District permit, as well as use and construction permits.

“If people think we’re going to be out there with bulldozers next year, we’re not,” said DHT Executive Director Deena Dray. “We’ve done our due diligence to make sure we couldn’t do something else. Now we need to listen to community concerns, get feedback and keep the conversation going.”

Originally constructed at 520 Makapuu Ave. in 1933 as a movie house for Army troops stationed at Fort Ruger, the 18,000-square-foot theater has undergone numerous repairs and renovations since DHT first set up shop there in 1952.

“When the Army built this, they had no intention that it would still be standing in 2016,” said DHT Artistic Director John Rampage. “But because this building was originally a USO entertainment spot, they did take into consideration that it would be used for other things.”

One feature not considered was a fly loft, an elevated storage area above the stage used to house set pieces and speed scene transitions during performances. It’s something Rampage said goes back “to ancient Greece, to the beginning of theater,” and is an integral component of any contemporary performance space. On Oahu the Ronald Bright Theatre at Castle High School, Punahou School’s Dillingham Hall and the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Kennedy Theatre are among the facilities that employ fly loft systems.

A height variance is needed because DHT’s proposed 60-foot fly loft exceeds the city’s 25-foot height limit for new construction in that neighborhood. Over the past few months, three separate neighborhood boards have discussed construction plans with Dray and her representatives, with the biggest concerns raised in regard to the visual impact of the fly loft.

Dray said the fly loft would be “very narrow” and that the rest of the building would be constructed to “fit with the neighborhood,” with approximately 80 percent of the new building falling under the height limit.

The new theater will be constructed mauka of the old one along Makapuu Avenue, with landscaping and a dedicated drop-off area added at the corner of Alohea Street. When finished, the new construction will be roughly 30 percent larger, at approximately 24,000 square feet, but seating capacity will not increase. Instead, the additional space will be dedicated to DHT programs and providing a venue for church and community groups to host events, as DHT does now with limited space.

“The new facility will actually help the community a lot more,” Rampage said. “Right now it’s all the same space, so our educational programs have to end when rehearsal starts. The new building is going to have a rehearsal area and an educational area, so we’re making more opportunities available.”

Only one neighborhood board — the Diamond Head/Kapahulu/Saint Louis Heights Neighborhood Board — passed a resolution addressing the matter. Instead of formally supporting or opposing DHT’s construction plans, board members voted to “support Diamond Head Theater following the codes and the laws.” Following an initial presentation by DHT in February, the Kaimuki Neighborhood Board took no formal position on the redevelopment. The Waialae-Kahala Neighborhood Board also discussed the project following a presentation by theater officials in February, but a motion to support the redevelopment plan failed to pass.

DHT has raised about one-third of the project’s expected $22 million cost, but a final number is “still in flux,” according to Dray. A request for proposals was recently issued in an effort to hire an architect with experience designing theaters.

“The new architect will rely on the initial schematic drawings but will be expected to bring their national expertise in theater design to the process in order to help us create a truly amazing structure,” she said.