Today’s breaking arts news: Center in the Square renovation needs $1 million to make goal
Blogger’s note: for a “fly-through” video of Center’s proposed changes, go here.
An artist's rendition of the planned 5,500-gallon saltwater aquarium to be named after Steel Dynamics Corp. Image courtesy of Center in the Square.
A $750,000 challenge grant and a $500,000 corporate pledge have helped put the downtown nonprofit within $1 million of reaching its capital campaign goal. In an announcement Monday, Center called on the public to help close the distance.
The project is well behind its original proposed schedule, with construction now expected to begin in spring 2011, but given the recession, Center capital campaign director John Harlow said he considers the campaign’s progress a victory for the community.
“We’ve done the best that we could given the circumstances that we were in,” he said. “It’s taken a little longer. That doesn’t make the victory any less sweet.”
Center announced the public campaign in September 2009 and had hoped to renovate its Church Avenue building this year, but the nonprofit is still negotiating the terms of the loan needed for work to start, said Center president Jim Sears.
Funding for the renovation comes from two components: $18 million in federal and state tax credits and a $9 capital campaign. Harlow and Sears say all the necessary tax credits have been sold.
The final phase of the capital campaign will welcome even the tiniest donations, employing methods including mailing inserts, promotions at regional banks and “donate” buttons on Center’s website.
“The last million dollars arguably will be the hardest to raise,” said Bob Lawson, Center’s campaign co-chairman. “It’s going to take the entire community.”
August 30, 2010 - 12:04 PM
“Harlow said that despite the crowded field, Center’s progress provides proof that the money can be found. He referenced the Taubman Museum of Art’s $66 million campaign.”
Really? At what cost? Anyone who doesn’t think the Taubman campaign didn’t suck the lion’s share of the charitable arts dollars out of the operating budgets of others is just plain gullible. And those who pointed out that the Art Museum would be hard-pressed to support the additional operating expenses were, sadly, very much on the mark.
More to the point: if Roanoke really wants all these great cultural resources, they’re going to have to step up in terms of consistently attending and donating to LOCAL offerings rather than the over-priced pablum that visits the Civic Center or the blockbuster shows underwritten by our tax dollars in Richmond. Otherwise, the only things in town that will be guaranteed in terms of entertainment are monster truck competitions and country music concerts.
Seriously, an aquarium at the Center in the Square? Who are these designers? Do they not understand that we are in no way even remotely close to the ocean? It seems the same idiot that designed the ship (Taubman) is designing the Center. And who exactly is going to maintain this aquarium and how are we going to protect it from graffiti and vandalism? And with another potential freezing Winter how much will that cost to heat… or will we remove the fish like Mill Mountain Zoo does with its animals when it gets to cold?
Also I’ve been to the Taubman and the shows although passable don’t have the required room for showcasing. I would rather the art be shown in a giant non-descript building than in the undersized Taubman. At least then the works would receive the space they need to be appreciated. I think once again an architects napkin design was put ahead of the actual function of the building.
There are so many exciting events/venues happening in town right now leveraging private/public relationships — lots of bang for the buck–that this project stands out as facade only project (more of a twentieth century practice). I would like to learn more about how the organizations inside this building hope to become relevant to the community as this process continues. For example, what is the relevance of saltwater aquariums to this building, and our region–is it part of the science museum? It just seems that as Roanoke strives in bold ways to embrace local and sustainable ideas this seems a bit left-field. Why would we not mirror our own ecologies?