MPR recently ran this story about the Shubert Theater and how unbelievably long it’s taken to renovate this bad boy.

When Artspace originally announced plans for restoring the Shubert in 2000, it projected a 2004 opening date. In 2006, after the Legislature approved $11 million in bonding for the project, Artspace said the Shubert would be open in the fall of 2008.

Now project director Kim Motes says the opening is being pushed back again.

“We’re really now looking at — our design process will be completed in the fall,” she said. “So we could break ground in the fall of 2008.”

And if everything goes as planned, the Shubert’s doors will open in January, 2010. Motes says any groundbreaking or opening date depends on fundraising, and the project just isn’t there yet.

So how long do we need to raise funds for something before we can officially say that not enough people give a crap about it? I’d say 10 years is a nice round number.