An expansion was carried out in the period of 1528 - 1559, because social and political circumstances made greater demands on the building. In this second construction phase arsenal was extended by today's first bay and built up to its today’s height. An inner terrace was created in the first bay to provide dry storage space for provisions. The building was closed with the newly built western and eastern facade. The arsenal was burnt down in the Ottoman attack of 1571. A gunpowder explosion on October 1, 1579 at the fort over Hvar has certainly additionally damaged the building. A third construction phase was necessary to put the building back into operation. It is evident from the new construction that the Arsenal in Hvar has become more important as a supply center for the navy and the merchant fleet than just a space in which one galley was kept and maintained. A new inner floor was built in the interior of the existing arsenal, along its entire length. It was divided into two parts, the eastern and the western. To support the floor, seven circular arch supports were erected in the ground floor hall. - The interior was divided for the first time in eight bays that are visible today. The circular arches are undamaged by the fire and were certainly constructed after the fire of 1571. A lot of masonry work on the surfaces was needed to fix fire damage. On the outer side, the two most visible facades, the western and the northern, were rebuilt. In the interior, the foundations on the ground floor were repaired (the face was rebuilt with new stones, as well as some damaged but reused parts). Inside the first floor, all the walls were repaired with a mix of new and old, fire damaged stones. Warehouses on the northern arsenal facade were bought by the municipality and converted into a communal warehouse - Fontik. The third construction phase is characterized by more attention to detail and ornament. The building is in the city center, on the main square and very visible for any visitor upon arrival. The repair of the northern and western facades was an opportunity to create a more impressive architecture, especially when compared to the earlier construction period (visible today on the southern and eastern facades). There are more ornaments, more respect for proportion and symmetry. The walls from the outside are better built – more precise, with better shaped stones. Probably the most important legacy of the building, the historic theater, was constructed in the third phase on the eastern side of the first floor. The entrance to the theater was the Belvedere, the monumental terrace on the Fontik side.