Church St. arts center plans start to take shape

Architect discusses

plans for former Banfield building

By elaine van develde

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — Plans to turn the Banfield building into a bustling arts center are beginning to take shape, according to a progress report made at the Dec. 3 Township Committee workshop.

The township-owned building is located on Church Street near the Middletown train station.

After assessing public opinion, Bill Miller, Fair Haven, the architect for the project, said that, architecturally, the project will include renovating the existing building with a train depot/arts motif. There will also be a small addition on one side of the building and exterior parking for about 40 vehicles.

Miller said he and his associate "defined what the needs of the users would be" based on a poll of residents’ priorities for the building.

Miller also said that the Banfield building will need to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act. He intends to house bathrooms and essential facilities in a separate structure outside the existing structure, "so that the main facility can be dedicated space only for the arts purpose."

As Miller described it, there will be approximately seven components to the project, one of the seven being the core component, with three points of access. Included in those seven components will be several 14-by-28-foot studio areas for lessons and rehearsal space, a backstage area, a mini theater, a 6,400-foot flex-arts area, an access point for docking and loading and unloading for events, and the addition where there would be administrative offices and lavatories, and where tickets can be sold and dealings of the same kind done.

The addition would be 25-by-100 feet. There would also, according to the current plans, be room for about 45 parking spots, which some on the Township Committee conceded would have to be mulled over, considering train station parking problems.

Also mentioned was the plan to have the rear of the building overlook the pond that abuts it with an amphitheater of sorts where there could be "Shakespeare at the Pond" type events. The committee also bandied about the idea of incorporating the planned Sept. 11 memorial into the project. Committeeman Raymond O’Grady suggested a floating monument in the pond on the property or a memorial trail surrounding it. "It would be nice to take the opportunity to tie the arts in here and make a memorial more creative than a slab of concrete with lettering on it," Committeewoman Rosemarie Peters added.

Nonetheless, Miller reiterated, "There’s a broad brush of components we’ve taken into consideration with three or four primary uses to build around."

To the surprise of some, Miller said, a theater was not the ultimate need cited by polled Middletown residents. There were other important uses brought to the forefront, with crafting space heading the list, art instruction running high on it and theater coming in third, according to a Community Arts Survey circulated in the township’s newsletter "Middletown Matters."

In fact, that poll specifically concluded that 331 residents wanted to see crafts as a building use, 305 wanted art instruction, 227 wanted theater, 197 wanted photography, 191 music instruction, 181 art appreciation, 156 film/video, 136 vocal music, 134 modern dance or ballet, 127 literary discussion, 126 writing, 104 music appreciation and 74 tap dancing.

Peters, who spearheaded the project, called to mind the fact that there were other innovative arts ideas mentioned as well in the 635 responses. Forty organizations were also pointed out as potential users of the facilities. Also taken into consideration were the results of public input from the arts festival held at the building in May. With the interest, intent and plans of the building set, now the only things left to do are to circulate an action plan document, which will serve as a funding and site development guide and actually raise the money to revamp the building.

The building itself is estimated to cost between $3 million and $3.8 million, Miller said. That money could be raised via grant proposals, corporate sponsorships, fund-raisers and the like. "Someone has to get out and start beating the bushes," Miller added. Funding opportunities for tying in state Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Acres Program matching grants and low-interest loans to refurbish the areas outside the building were also brought to the table.

Another thought for fund raising was to name rooms after benefactors. So far, the township has applied for about $200,000 in state grants for the project. That money may be used to forge ahead first with a building facade to at least show outside improvements to the building as a first step to motivate people to get moving on fund raising.

At the end of January, Miller and his team will have their own action plan document ready for distribution. The report will be circulated and will show the "staging plan, priorities list, donor opportunity list and will chop the project down into doable bits."

For now, Miller’s team is looking for conceptual approval and input from the Township Committee. Though some concerns were expressed about the slated parking by Committeeman Patrick Parkinson, Miller stressed that the project is still conceptual and can easily be reworked to reflect reassessed needs.