Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 20, 1994 TAG: 9411220023
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV19 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KENNETH SINGLETARY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Long
In 1993, members of the New River Arts Council were inching toward their biggest goal: a center where artists could create and teach, a place where they and community members could gather and work together.
The plan, which called for the council to share quarters with a growing Blacksburg firm, didn't work out. Arts council members were hesitant to take on a substantial debt. The company wanted to move quickly. The building wasn't going to be big enough.
But the New River Valley's biggest arts group - a loose collection of artists, musicians and crafts people, with representatives from every valley locality - didn't let go of its idea.
Members know creating an cultural center will be tough, but they also know they have two things going for them: Their core members remain keenly interested in the project, and they've found a perfect site, an empty building that hints at possibility.
Christiansburg's Furniture Market, at Main and Franklin streets, is vacant, and the owner has agreed to consider proposals from the arts council.
"We think it would be a good situation for the community ... I think things will work out," said Bill Aldridge, the 64-year-old owner of the building who recently retired from the furniture business.
Arts council members see a center perfect for recitals, performances, dances, seminars and meetings. With three floors, 40,000 square feet and perhaps dining facilities, there would be room to evolve.
"We have all the reason in the world to think those things can happen if we can educate the community. I don't think there's a whole lot negative anybody can say about what we're trying to do," said Ed Schwartz, president of the council, during a recent tour of the building.
It would be a place that could redefine Christiansburg's declining downtown, they say. Arts council members see what similar efforts have done for Pulaski, Radford and tiny Narrows, the little roadside town that courageously started an arts program five years ago. The program since has invigorated the community, organizers there say.
"It would light Christiansburg's spark plug. Who comes to downtown Christiansburg now [other than] criminals and lawyers?" said Schwartz, who is a musician and band director.
Arts council members face innumerable problems and questions, the biggest being: Is there enough community support to make this idea viable?
They might begin to learn the answer today. An open house, featuring music and food, is scheduled from 2 to 6 p.m. to kick off the annual Gallery of Local Artists. As an arts council information release says, it's "an extremely important event to measure the community interest and support."
The arts council's business plan is still nebulous, Schwartz said, but a yearly budget of $100,000 for the center is a ballpark figure.
The source of the funding is not clear. Council members hope for support from the town and county, and donations from residents and corporate grants.
They have been encouraged by the response to a recent small-donation mailing, which raised $400 in a week. A local bank has promised to contribute $2,500 for a feasibility study.
But there have been naysayers and setbacks.
Steve Gerus, vice president of Creative Arts Inc., a newly formed umbrella group for artists in Blacksburg, believes the idea is "a little bit ambitious" for Christiansburg.
He suggests a "more conservative route in the pace of development," an approach Creative Arts plans to take in creating its own center. "They're kind of, to my mind, going off half-cocked."
Gerus warns, "The fact is, there's a limited amount of bucks out there to fund this sort of thing."
To some arts council members, Creative Arts is a "splinter group" that may be embarking on an internecine battle.
"They may be dipping into the same money market and contributor base as we are, which may hurt us both," said Rocco Capozzi, co-chairman of the building project for the council.
The arts council learned in October that it still has more homework to do. During the summer, Christiansburg applied for a $25,000 planning grant for the center from the state Department of Housing and Community Development. Last month, the grant was rejected after scoring 346 points on the department's 1,000-point rating scale. The lowest score among the 14 winning localities, which split $250,000, was 751.
Schwartz was unfazed by the bad news and called it a learning experience.
"One of the things we were lacking was a complete understanding of what they wanted to fund. ... It means that in the next cycle, we'll certainly be in better shape."
Arts council members are "very aware of the obstacles they face ... They know what they're up against," said Kathy Mantz, president of the Christiansburg Chamber of Commerce. "This is something they've thought through thoroughly."
Local government leaders say they are receptive to the idea of a cultural center in Christiansburg. Because they have not seen formal business plans yet, however, they have not committed support.
"I think it's a good idea," said Nick Rush, vice chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors, who said he plans to attend the opening. "I think the supervisors will obviously support the concept, but we'll have to see once they get all the information in."
"I think it may be a good use for that property," said Christiansburg Mayor Harold Linkous. "I suppose we would assist in some manner, but I don't know what that would be."
According to Schwartz, the bottom line is this: "We're trying to see if there is community support. If there isn't by Dec. 31, that's it." Dec. 31 is the closing date of the Gallery of Local Artists and the end of the short-term lease Aldridge has offered the council.
Council members think they might hear suggestions as more people learn about their plan.
The center could provide a couple of dozen jobs, Schwartz said. In all, he estimates, the arts council generates $150,000 in economic activity in the valley a year.
"The benefits are numerous, I think," said Michael Dowell, executive director of the Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley in Pulaski. "I think it's great for a community to have some sort of vehicle for the arts."
Such a facility helps in recruiting business and industry, he said, a refrain that Schwartz has taken up.
Dowell advises the arts council members to "make sure they've got their programming in line and a business plan."
"Just because it's tough doesn't mean it's impossible," said Bob Abraham, co-chairman of the arts council's building project.
by CNB