By AP/KWMU
SAINT LOUIS, MO – The City of St. Louis' newest playhouse is a beloved former Catholic church built in 1860.
The rehab is expected to reinvigorate the south St. Louis neighborhood of Carondelet.
The new Ivory Theatre was transformed from, what was up until two years ago, St. Boniface Catholic Church.
Developer Pete Rothschild transformed the church and several buildings around it, including the old rectory and parish school.
Rothschild says Carondelet could easily be the city's next boom neighborhood for rehabbers, developers and the young and professional residents who often follow them.
St. Boniface was one of seven churches in the archdiocese closed as part of a parish consolidation in 2005.