JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The City of Jackson met with contractors on Friday to discuss what comes next after the State Fire Marshal’s Office deemed Thalia Mara Hall was unfit for reopening.

State Fire Marshal Mike Chaney said the building does not meet the standards to reopen. Crews had been working on a multi-phase project, which included mold remediation, becoming ADA complaint and coming up to code.

The facility closed in August 2024 after mold and other safety issues were discovered.

“We should be able to remediate sooner than later. Our fire inspectors will go first, and then we’ll be able to have another inspection. Most of these things are things that we already knew about, so they were already budgeted for, like the the elevator or the escalator. Those are like parts of Phase 2 when it comes to the renovations at Thalia Mara Hall. So, those have already been budgeted for. It’s just the next phase of what’s going to happen now,” said Melissa Faith Payne, communications director for the City of Jackson.

Many performers had to reschedule or relocate since Thalia Mara Hall closed five months ago. With the spring performance season quickly approaching, the City of Jackson wants to reopen the venue.

“A lot of these are unforeseen delays, and we are working as quickly as we can. It is very important to the city that we open reopen the doors this spring. We’ve got to move into the spring. I know there are lots of performances and productions that want to come here to Jackson, and we want to make sure that we are able to house them, so we are working as quickly as possible. This is a concerted effort between the administration and the contractor and all the crews are working to make this happen,” Payne said.

There is no exact date on when Thalia Mara Hall will reopen.