Published: March 27, 2008 07:13 pm            

Theater might join civic center

Approval would move arts center out of downtown

Cleburne City Council members voiced support Tuesday for combining a performing arts center with an expanded Cleburne Civic Center.

Current plans call for putting the theater downtown in the former Royce’s Pharmacy building. But the pharmacy is smaller than the city would like.

“We wanted a 299 seat theater, but the architect said we could only shoe horn in 177 seats,” said Adam Miles, assistant city manager. “To do more would severely limit the lobby, backstage and restroom areas.”

The Greater Cleburne Carnegie Players, which will be one of the main users of the new performing arts center, will move from the 125 seat Carnegie Theatre upstairs in the Layland Museum.

The cost of renovating the pharmacy building would be $1.8 million to $2 million because of structural problems, Miles said.

“We thought, if we moved it to the Civic Center, could we spend the same amount of money and get 299 seats?” Miles said. “With the downtown location, you have the problems of parking and renovating a 100-year-old building.”

The pharmacy building, which the city purchased in August for $150,000, could be sold or used for another purpose, Miles said.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea and commend whoever thought of it,” Councilman Bob Force said.

The idea was a light-bulb moment, said Jeff Dugger, a member of the 4B Economic Development Corp. and Carnegie Players boards. The 4B board is leading the city’s work on the performing arts center and civic center expansion.

“It was never intended for the two projects to be combined,” Dugger said. “And we were prepared as late as last week to move forward with the 177 seat theater. But, when we thought of the new concept, it made so much sense it just could not be overlooked. That building [Royce’s] is very marketable. I don’t think the city would have any problem selling it or putting it to some other use.”

Miles concurred.

“We did an inspection of the building and knew there would be issues with plumbing, electrical wiring and Americans with Disabilities Act issues,” Miles said. “Carnegie members said the building would work for their theater needs, although we knew there would be compromises.

“But we did not do a study as to the number of seats. That’s a step, in retrospect, we did not make.”

In addition to being sold or used, the building could possibly be swapped for another property, Miles said.

Converting the building into city office space would cost closer to $1 million than the $2 million estimate to convert it into a theater, he said.

Council members earlier touted the performing arts center as a stepping stone toward downtown revitalization.

“But you have the Plaza Theatre downtown, and Hill College [has] plans for a downtown theater,” Miles said. “Putting this with the civic center means the theater people could make use of their space, and those using the civic center could use the theater at times.”

Miles said he expects groups other than the Carnegie Players, such as the Brazos Chamber Orchestra, to use the new center.

In other workshop news:

• Cleburne sales tax revenues are 36 percent above revenues this time last year, said Jerry Cash, Cleburne economic development manager.

Collections are 28.5 percent ahead for the calendar year to date, he said.

• Sales tax collection for the fiscal year is up 32.55 percent, or $778,788 over last year, said Greg Wilmore, finance director.

Fund 21 revenue amounts total $3.8 million, which totals 76 percent of the amount budgeted for the fiscal year with six months remaining in the year, Wilmore said.

        

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