Special Bd. of Aldermen — 5/2/17 Page 17
Mr. Webb
The new venue and the investment at Court Street don’t really support the Symphony’s main theatre. They
have expressed some interest in coming into a smaller venue on an occasional basis, but this is not their new
home. We're not pulling them into this project. Court Street is largely to take care of the bulk of the local arts
organizations that are there now and hopefully the improvements to Court Street will make it a little bit more
useable. Both to the main theater and the multi-purpose room, | would anticipate that at least half of that. In
the main theatre, we’re projecting about 2/3 of those performances and use days are incremental, meaning it’s
additional sort of touring programs, additional rental activity that doesn’t occur like the same group is doing
different things or more of what they are currently doing. The meeting and event business, which maybe we’re
taking a little bit of that out of hotels, but | think is more incremental activity because we’re providing a new,
high quality downtown location. A good chunk of that activity, both in the main theatre and the multi-purpose
room is incremental.
Alderman Schoneman
We have to dramatically increase the volume of arts activity in the city presently, which brings me to the overall
economic development plan. The whole theory of kind of raising the entire area of economically requires a lot
of things happening maybe simultaneously. Will the theatre bring the people in, or do we need to have the
people here first that will want to go? We’re talking about the potential of a $15.5 million bond, and this is as
Director Cummings said, one part of the overall economic development strategy. You mentioned getting more
market rate housing. What else would the city need to do as part of an economic development plan that could
require a bond of this size? Is this the largest thing that we would be funding? Are there other things that
might do more for us in a shorter term than an arts center that would require this kind of bond?
Director Cummings
At this level, this would be your largest and your only publicly driven type of investment. Most of it will be
setting the stage for private sector investment. Ultimately, making sure that we articulate our rules and
regulations in a way that will spur positive economic investments such as the Brady Sullivan project where they
took essentially an empty building and are rehabbing it into 200 market-rate units. That’s being done by the
private sector which is a great ingredient to the downtown. This is one of the ways the city could play a role in
helping to add an ingredient to the downtown to help not the artists but the Main Street merchants and the
small businesses along the corridor that are also looking for that revitalization.
Alderman Schoneman
When we look at the other communities, Richfield, Connecticut and Stowe, Vermont, how did the arts center fit
into the timing of the overall economic growth? Was it one of the first things that was done or was there
something happening already and this came in the middle or the end of a surge of economic development?
Mr. Webb
There are some communities where the arts go into a place first. The old line we use is that artists are the
Stormtroopers of gentrification. All over our country you see examples of artists that are just looking for cheap
space, bringing their energy and vitality to undeveloped or challenging neighborhoods. They, all by
themselves, drive that economic development which ultimately leads to gentrification which ultimately pushes
them out of that neighborhood. Projects like this, what has to come first is the intention to make it happen.
Then you look at your tools as an economic developer. There are some communities that deal with the theatre
first, but lve said before and | will continue to say, you need to do the theatre as part of a set of projects that
happen if not concurrently that happen in close succession. What really matters in a performance space and
what really brings people is programming. It’s not the building; it’s what goes on in the building. You're ability
to have a place that can be an excellent venue for local arts organizations to perform that attract people or to
