Recommendation on Arts Center Purpose Coming in October

All good things must come to an end.

As 311 W. Main Task Force Chairman allegorically put it Thursday night, the task force is now at Fourth and Goal at the one yard line, with the game on the line.

Next month, the 311 W. Main Task Force's purpose and efforts will come to a close as it is poised to recommend to borough council an elaborate and in-depth direction for the former performing arts center in the heart of Lansdale.

That direction, based on opinions of members, is to renovate the building all at once and develop it into a film and performing arts center.

Chairman Mike Sobel had asked each task force member to summarize their opinions on what should be recommended, based on draft findings in the business plan from consultant AMS Planning & Research.

Every one of the task force members, of the voting and ex-officio capacity, wants an arts center.

However, there is a difference of opinion in the ranks of the task force.

On one side are those who want to phase the project, and on the other side are those who want to recommend the borough renovate the facility all at once. 

The phasing option is favored by consultant AMS Planning and contracted architect Spiezle Architects.

Montgomery County Planning Commission member Brian O'Leary is part of the former group. He told the task force that the proposal of phases is more feasible.

"There is a need for movies in the area," O'Leary said. "Maybe there could be space dedicated to an arts center."

O'Leary said Lansdale can be a great marketing area for theater and performance.

"I still think Lansdale needs to have some magnet for the downtown," O'Leary said.

Task force member Doug Pett said he is an opponent to phasing the project.

"If you phase it, you'll never finish it," Pett said. "You could do the first floor, and then years down the road do the second floor. The final burden will be on another council."

"It needs to go forward 100 percent and do all the renovations at once," Pett said.

Cost, he said, is a huge pro and a huge con.

"The public is for it. Everybody wants it. It fills a need for Lansdale," he said. "We need it to continue to revitalize Lansdale Borough."

Pett said the reality is if the borough does nothing with the center, it still costs Lansdale money.

"What's the lesser of the two evils?" said Pett. "We want to put business back, get people to Lansdale. You have to spend money to make money."

Ultimately, the cost for fixing $4 million of code violations inside the center will be council's decision, as will any fundraising plans.

Nancy DeLucia, regional director for the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance and ex-officio member of the task force, said the borough should renovate the entire facility, as it's an important investment for the revitalization of Lansdale.

"I have one concern: the operating budget is optimistic. It's very important to have that budget," DeLucia said. "You have to prepare for several years. You have to go in eyes wide open. You don't want to repeat what happened before."

DeLucia said the community cannot handle two performance spaces in the center.

Task force member Dawn Harvey said the communty will very much support an arts center.

"I agree that it should be a theater/film space with art as well," she said. "The quality of programming has to be great. If it's great, people will tell people about it and they will want more."

Harvey supported the idea of phasing — and proffered the idea of turning a vacant storefront on West Main Street into a black box theater to gain momentum that can be carried over to the new arts center.

O'Leary and DeLucia liked that idea, as it has shown successful in places like South Street in Philadelphia.

Parks and Recreation Director Carl Saldutti was a supporter of renovating all at once.

"It is a venue for the creative arts," Saldutti said. "It could be an incubator. It could be multi-faceted. There are so many positive things that it brings to the community."

Saldutti said the borough should "take the big bite" in the renovations of the center.

"If you're going to take a bite, maybe take a big one," Saldutti said. 

He added that the borough can spend money and no get a 100 percent return.

"If you believe in the building, I think the borough would be willing to help subsidize it until it gets its own legs and takes off," Saldutti said.

Task force member Denton Burnell said the committee has talked about what is possible and what is unlikely with the center. The committee has asked itself hard questions like, "What would it take to tear it down and start over?" and "Why don't we just sell it?" he said.

"The majority of Lansdale residents who have taken an interest in the future of this building have said, 'Yes, we do favor a renovation of the building into a cultural and arts and entertainment center.'  Those who said 'No,' or are unsure, most often cite concerns about the borough's involvement with potentially managing the facility, funding, the potential impact on the borough's budget and, by extension, their own pocketbooks," Burnell said.

The committee has to look at it has either fixing something or making an investment with interested partners in an idea, not just a building.

"An idea that, however flawed it may have been in its initial execution, still has real potential," Burnell said.

He paraphrased a previous comment from a resident: Redoing streetscapes, new trees and new curbing doesn't revitalize the downtown. If it had, we wouldn't be sitting here, he said.

"We are nearing the top of a hill. There is renewed interest in our town. Developers are taking interest. Large corporations are taking interest and cooperating with us to mutual benefit," Burnell said. "To take it to the next level, Lansdale must further distinguish itself."

He said the borough needs to get rid of the stigma that "nothing is going on" in Lansdale.

"There's no telling what it might become. I, for one, don't believe we can afford to take that chance. There's risk in this venture, but this is the time for action," he said.

Task force member Mary Fuller said the name "task force" is the perfect term for what the group is doing in the borough.

"None of the decisions will be easy. In the end, I'm at the same conclusion I was at the very beginning: I see a multiuse arts center as a doable and beneficial endeavor for the Borough of Lansdale."

Fuller said to "rip the Band-Aid off at once" instead of phasing the project. She said on the inside of government, things work slowly. She feared the same as Pett: a new regime and an increase in costs could affect the project getting completed.

"Seventy-six-point-nine percent of people in the area said they want this. A little over 80 percent said they would participate in programming," Fuller said. "That's pretty high stats. Those two numbers stick with me. They tell us this community has a desire to see this building renovated and functioning as an arts center."

Task force vice chairman Charles Booz said the decision the task force makes will affect things 100 years down the road.

"At this point, because of economic slowness, money is cheap. So, we have the opportunity to do it all at once," Booz said. "We won't get finished if we don't."

The arts center, Booz said, is stopping growth on Main Street and stopping pedestrians from walking down and looking at Main Street.

"We either let the cancer continue, or we cut it out and do something with it," Booz said. "I do believe in this investment for the community and our future. We have another opportunity to make history. Let's move foward, full steam ahead."

Task force member James "Royale" Collins said there is a value to having a performing arts center in the downtown, as it adds to the quality of Lansdale as a community. 

Trees, sidewalks and the like don't revitalize a town.

"Faith, without work, is dead," Collins said. "We all have to understand, if we endeavor to do this, it will be worthwhile."

A new building will bring not just performers and public, but new investors.

He said the rich character of Skippack and Doylestown is successful because of their cultural districts. Lansdale won't get anywhere with offices and the like.

"It doesnt' add to the quality. No one says, 'I grew up around the corner from Staples. It was awesome.' What we are here trying to build is something greater than the experience of office buildings."

The arts center should be a place for youth to develop memories.

"For me, to stand in front of a place with friends and family enjoying each other's company, that's what I hope for," Collins said.

Borough Manager Timi Kirchner said she is not afraid to approach council to authorize money to cover the cost of rehabilitation of the arts center.

"I came here because the town was not afraid," she said. "I found a council that was not afraid. I found a staff that was not afraid."

She said she's been asked if Lansdale can be like Doylestown, and Kirchner said Lansdale was better than Doylestown.

"As I watched the train come in on Founders Day, I thought, 'This is what Lansdale is, what it can be and what it should be,'" she said. "I say we take advantage of the investment so far and build on it. While it might feel better to phase it, as long as it sits in terrible condition, it costs you money. And that's not money I'm willing to spend."

If Lansdale develops the building, then it shows Lansdale believes in itself to investors, she said.

"This is the heart of the downtown. If we don't make it pop, why should anyone else? Lansdale deserves nothing but the best," Kirchner said.

Sobel said he is in favor of doing the renovations all at once.

"We don't know who will be here three years from now. The town deserves it. It sits smack dab in the middle of the downtown. If it's done right, this community center could be one of the cornerstones of revitalization," Sobel said. 

He said there were suggestions to sell it, but no one has come up with any money. He said there were suggestions to demolish it, but then the borough is left with an empty lot in the downtown.

"It's far from perfect. If we do this right, we can turn this into a community center," he said. "Will it ever be a Keswick or a Sellersville Theater? No, we don't have to be. Let's carve our own niche."

Resident Rege McKenzie said the committee should move forward and focus on performing arts and stay away from playhouses.

"The truth is visible when you sell tickets and people show up. To be successful, learn from the past," McKenzie said. "It's not just the building; it's maintaining it. Move forward courageously."

Resident Al Rieck said the building should be run by an independent agency, not nonprofit Discover Lansdale.

"It needs to be directed by a board focused on running a community arts center," Rieck said. "Whoever does the day-to-day oversight has to be focused on that, six-and-a-half days a week."

Rieck also said the borough needs to have a year minus one budget structured before anything is done.

"Bite the bullet and do it all at once," Rieck said. "It's a major business undertaking. It's not some part-time, fly-by-night plan."

Rieck said organizations like Discover Lansdale come and go. A group needs to be running the center for future generations.

Booz said the borough can learn from its mistakes. He said 20/20 is clear in business.

He then offered to petition the community for support.

"If we went out and work on a petition, it can work in reality. It's a gamble. If we really want it, let's put the petition out," Booz said.

Kirchner said Lansdale needs to turn the center into "the community's theater."

"They feel it's theirs and it gives them something of value," she said. "I don't think it was Lansdale's before."

Sobel said there is a new incarnation of Lansdale happening and the building will be a big part of that.

Community Development Director John Ernst said all new and existing events in Lansdale are crystallizing to the point where people are noticing Lansdale is doing something.

"Lansdale is starting to make a name for itself," he said.

As a resident, Ernst said the unspoken price is if the borough doesn't do anything, what happens and what's the cost if it sits idle? 

Ernst said there's no better time than now to get money for renovations. There's an untold price in phasing the project, which would include interrupting operations, shutting down the facility and stopping income.

"I suggest that if you are going to bite the apple, take the largest bite you can take," Ernst said. "There is opportunity to get money to use it efficiently and effectively to get the project done."

Sobel said there's going to be a lot of money in the initial investment, and goods and profit come in time. The payoff is 15 years down the road, he said.

"We have to take a leap of faith," Sobel said.

Mayor Andy Szekely is in favor of phasing the project.

"I will disagree that you need to make a large, initial investment. I don't think it's necessarily true," he said.

Places like Ambler Theater started small and slowly filled its capacity. Szekely said the borough needs to get people in the 210 seats in the building's theater, bring the place up to code and see what organizations respond.

"If there's a demand in five years, then expand," he said.

He said Germantown Academy successfully renovated its entire campus and it didn't interrupt activities as it tore everything down and built from scratch.

Lansdale, he said, is a blue collar town that has less money than Doylestown. The people of town live in an economic time where they can only buy what they can afford, and the borough should do the same.

"I want the arts in town. Do a grassroots effort, get the code issues fixed, get an arts organization in and slowly flourish," Szekely said.

Kirchner said a three- to five-year plan is very reasonable for the center. However, an initial infusion of funding is needed, with the intent that that infusion will get less and less as the center becomes self-sufficient.

Saldutti added that the committee should also recommend next month the cost of not moving forward.

"I think there will be a very strong message if we were not to move forward," he said.

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