03/17/2026
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ACE THEATER PROJECT SET TO BEGIN
RePurpose Capital announced today they have closed a loan with Porchlight, LLC that will help bring the famed Ace Theater back to life. Located in Mobile, Alabama, the historic building has been vacant for more than half a century but remains the last surviving segregation-era movie theater that served all-Black audiences in the city.
Upon completion, the $3.5 million project will turn the theater at 501 Congress St. into a 100-seat performance venue, as well as the permanent home of the iconic Excelsior Band – adding momentum to the community’s ongoing effort to revitalize an area that was once the heart of African American life in Mobile.
“Porchlight is deeply grateful to play a role in a project of such importance for the Avenue community, for the history of Black life in Mobile, and to the enduring legacy of the Excelsior Band,” said Porchlight Real Estate Director John Ruzic. RePurpose Capital President and CEO Patrice Frey added, “We are incredibly excited to help bring back the Ace Theatre, which is such a culturally significant place in a neighborhood steeped in civil rights history.”
This is the second loan RePurpose Capital has issued, after the newly formed non-profit helped provide financial support for the restoration of a 1929 Coca-Cola bottling plant in Gadsden, Alabama last year. The reactivation of the Ace Theater aligns with RePurpose Capital and Porchlight’s goal of supporting the redevelopment of historically significant places.
The project was spearheaded by Merceria Ludgood, a long-time Mobile County Commissioner who remembers attending movies on the Avenue because her “mother refused to enter the segregated entrance to other venues in the area.” As the new home to the Excelsior Band, the building will serve as a jazz studio, as well as provide music educational programs to the community through its members. The brass marching band was founded in 1883 and has been a proud staple of the city for generations, embodying the culture of Mobile and its beloved Mardi Gras celebration.
“Restoring the Ace Theatre is about honoring the history of the Avenue while creating new opportunities for culture, music, and community as a key site in Mobile County’s emerging Civil Rights & Cultural Heritage District,” said Commissioner Merceria Ludgood. “We thank the many partners whose collaboration is helping bring this historic landmark to life, she added.”
Other partners in the project include Opportunity Alabama, Mobile County Commission, Rogers & Willard, Inc., Tall Architects, Schneider Historic Preservation, and investment capital is provided through the Kresge Foundation.
About RePurpose Capital
RePurpose Capital is a mission-driven nonprofit loan fund created to finance the rehabilitation and reuse of older and historic buildings in disinvested rural and urban communities. A subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, RePurpose Capital provides flexible capital and technical assistance to support community-led development, economic revitalization, and improved health outcomes.
About the Kresge Foundation
The Kresge Foundation was founded in 1924 to promote human progress. Today, Kresge fulfills that mission by building and strengthening pathways to equity and opportunity for low-income people in America’s cities, seeking to dismantle structural and systemic barriers to equality and justice. Using a full array of grants, loans, and other investment tools, Kresge invests more than $160 million annually to foster economic and social change.
About Porchlight Communities
Porchlight Communities is a Mobile-based real estate development firm focused on neighborhood revitalization and strategic community redevelopment. Founded in 2016, Porchlight brings together professionals in architecture, construction, real estate development, and community planning to address blight, vacancy, and disinvestment in Mobile’s historic urban core.
About Main Street Alabama
Main Street Alabama is a nonprofit organization focused on creating meaningful economic and community development in historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. Through its Small Deal Fund Pilot Program, Main Street Alabama provides tools and capital to help bring underutilized buildings back to productive use.
About OPAL
OPAL is an organization dedicated to transforming the built environment in neighborhoods and small towns across the country. OPAL provides wrap-around technical assistance and tax-advantaged lending and investment to catalyze transformative real estate projects in low-income and historically underserved communities.
