Center for the Arts Planning New Construction

Jerome Borchers, Chair of the Yellow Springs Center for the Arts Steering Committee, told Village Council last night that the committee has an option to purchase the lot at 102 Dayton Street (corner of Railroad Street) as a proposed site for the construction of a new Center for the Arts. The change in focus from using existing structures to new construction, he said, was brought about by the closing of Antioch College and campus facilities the group was considering. In a press release issued today, YSCASC outlines their plans including the revival of Yellow Springs Center Stage, a 501 (c) (3), to serve as owner of the property.

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Press Release

FOR RELEASE MAY 19, 2009

CONTACT
LAURA CARLSON
YELLOW SPRINGS CENTER FOR THE ARTS STEERING COMMITTEE
937-767-2954
YSARTSCENTER@GMAIL.COM
WWW.YSCENTERFORTHEARTS.ORG

Center for the Arts Announces Downtown Location for New Arts Facility in Yellow Springs

Yellow Springs, OH, May 19, 2009 – The Yellow Springs Center for the Arts Steering Committee, in a presentation to the Yellow Springs Village Council on Monday, May 18, announced the proposed location for a new performing arts facility.

The 13-member Steering Committee selected a location in the village’s downtown district, at the intersection of Dayton St. and Railroad St. Currently a vacant lot, the site was once occupied by the Linkhart Grain Elevator, demolished in 2004, and may have been the site of the village’s first train depot.

The Railroad St. site was among more than a dozen locations considered by the YSCA’s Facilities Task Force. The task force, comprised of YSCASC Vice Chair Jane Baker, Ellen Hoover, Rod Hoover, Richard Lapedes, and Louise Smith, applied a long list of selection criteria, including availability, cost, visibility, adequacy of scale, availability of parking, catalytic economic value, centrality, walkability and bikeability, construction costs, green potential, and community acceptance. According to YSCASC Chair Jerome Borchers, “The Steering Committee unanimously accepted the task force’s recommendation. The potential for synergies and the beneficial impact of this location on our downtown’s economic and social vitality make it a great choice.”

Said Borchers, the intent is to build, “a high-quality facility for performing arts and a variety of related activities in the heart of Yellow Springs’ village center. This facility will be used by many existing theater, music, dance, art, and other cultural and educational groups in Yellow Springs. And it can host various community events and hopefully will spark the new arts and educational activities. “

Should the Antioch College Continuation Corporation be successful in its fundraising and negotiations with Antioch University, leaders of that effort view the new facility as one that could serve as a primary venue for the new Antioch College theater and dance programs. Lee Morgan, Chair of the ACCC Board Pro Tem, stated that "the new Antioch College looks forward to a collaborative performing arts program with the community that will focus energy in the village center.”

This new arts facility is the most ambitious aspect of the YSCASC’s three-part plan to strengthen Yellow Springs’ identity as a center for creativity, innovation, and the arts; capacity to produce, manage and promote cultural and artistic work in the public arena; and facilities for the creation, presentation, learning, and enjoyment of the arts. This plan, which came out of three days of community meetings, held in March 2007 at the First Presbyterian Church, has already yielded success in the revitalization of the Arts Council, support for stabilizing the Little Art Theatre, and business planning for the year-round operation of YS Kids Playhouse.

The YSCASC has been working as a project of the Morgan Family Foundation, but it recently took a necessary step in order to move forward with a purchase option on the property. Representatives from the group met in February with 10 former members of the Yellow Springs Center Stage Board of Trustees to request that that organization be revived in order to serve as the legal entity that would own the property. Center Stage, a community theater organization that produced plays from 1971 to 2003, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Jean Hooper, a Center Stage founder and long-time artistic director died in 2007, but, said her husband Bill Hooper, “Jean hoped that Center Stage would one day again be useful to the community. I think she would approve of these efforts to build a new theater for the community.” The former board voted to revive the organization, with the active members of the YSCASC serving as its new board of trustees.

The YSCASC will be working through the summer to perform due diligence on the site and to develop an operations and business plan. A new task force is being created to meet with individuals and organizations that will use the facility to revisit their needs and plans for future programming, and a public meeting is planned in early to mid-August.

“The YSCASC has devoted countless hours to this effort over the past several years,” said Borchers, “and I’m very appreciative of the work of all its past and current members. The assistance from our consultants, Tom Borrup and George Sutton, has really made the difference with our progress. We will move forward, with the vision developed at the community meetings as our guide, to create an arts facility that is financially sustainable and environmentally responsible, and will serve our community.”

The other current members of the YSCASC are Jane Baker, Harden Ballantine, Anita Brown, Mary Campbell-Zopf, Luke Dennis, John Fleming, Paul Graham, Ellis Jacobs, Rick Kristensen, Amy Lee, Rob Lytle, and Gayle Rominger; Laura Carlson serves as Project Coordinator.