Center for the Arts looking to expand at current site

Everything around it moves

A scaled-back expansion plan for the Crested Butte Center for the Arts received a preliminary look from the Town Council Monday evening. Center executive director Jenny Birnie and board member and architect Jennifer Hartman asked the council for a nod of approval for plans to expand the center at its current site. They got it.

Various boards and arts groups have looked at expanding the Center or even moving it over the past several years. The latest plan calls for growing the current 6,966-square-foot building with an additional 16,550 square feet of new space. The footprint would go from 5,641 to 23,823 square feet. The expansion would not affect Pitsker Field but the other amenities in the area such as the swing sets and playpark would have to be rearranged. The only thing eliminated would be the current bathroom building but a public bathroom would be included in the new arts center space. There would be no impact to the soccer field where Alpenglow concerts are held since the building would expand out toward Seventh Street and Pitsker Field. While details haven’t been established, the playground would probably be moved across the path toward the Pitsker softball field.
Birnie said the local Arts Alliance, made up of the Mountain Theatre, the Crested Butte School of Dance, the Artists of the West Elks, the Crested Butte Music Festival and the Center for the Arts are all on board with the proposal.
“The renovation and expansion will provide needed space for people renting the facility,” explained Birnie. “It is a 23-year-old building and it is very important to the community. It is its cultural hub. We want to be able to offer more programs and want to continue to be a strong engine for economic development.”
Hartman said the plan before the council was very preliminary. She said more rooms would be added, an elevator would be installed to help alleviate some ADA issues, and the number of seats in the theater would remain at 215.
Birnie said there were a couple of reasons not to expand seating in the theater, with the primary reason being a planned concert hall on the mountain. “The Crested Butte Music Festival is working with Mt. Crested Butte to build a larger facility in Mt. Crested Butte,” she said. That facility is expected to have at least 400 seats.
“The current facility meets our needs and it is important we don’t duplicate services with the Mt. Crested Butte facility,” Birnie explained. “I think we want to focus our attention and time on enhancing the current building and we want to build more multi-purpose space with conference rooms, and a dance studio, for example. With another arts facility planned for the mountain in the future, we are shifting focus to meet the needs of the local arts community.”
Hartman agreed. “Small conferences might be able to be held there after the renovation with the improvements we plan,” she said. “Details haven’t been set in stone but we think the size of the expansion is there.”
Hartman said the board had originally planned to make any expansion LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified and she didn’t think that had changed.
Mayor Alan Bernholtz applauded the move. “There is no question we need an expanded arts facility,” he said. “I think expanding at the current location is the way to go. I would still encourage you, however, to consider expanding the number of seats in the building. There are many times shows are sold out.”
Councilmember Margot Levy asked if the number of parking spaces drawn on the preliminary plan would be suitable after expansion. “That’s one of the many things that we don’t yet know for sure,” said Hartman.
Councilman Dan Escalante agreed with Bernholtz that expanding the Center at its current location was a good move. “I am glad to hear that you are no longer looking at Gothic Field as a site,” he said.
 The council asked the staff to amend a resolution encouraging expansion of the Arts Center to take out the Gothic Field location as a possibility. The council as a whole agreed the expansion plans should proceed.
Birnie said more detailed planning will commence shortly. “We have $15,000 budgeted in 2010 for planning for the expansion,” she said. “We’ll meet with the board in November to talk about the next steps. We are at least one or two years out from construction.”