Biery-Witt Center now within $3 million of its fundraising campaign goal

Pursuing a “campus” approach to development

By Alissa Johnson

Proponents of the future Biery-Witt Center are closing in on their fundraising goal. As of this spring, donors have committed $24.1 million toward the performing arts and convention center. That leaves just under $3 million to reach the $27 million estimated project cost goal.

As the final milestone grows closer, staff and the board of directors are preparing to reengage the final architectural design process and launch a public fundraising campaign once $25 million has been raised. As they do so, the vision for the project is evolving into a campus-like approach, integrating the ski resort Base Area and the community into the plan for hosting conventions, conferences, events and performances.

“We think this facility is going to be key to a renaissance for Mt. Crested Butte that ultimately will be a great complement to Crested Butte,” said executive director Woody Sherwood. He sees the potential to spread out the impact of summer tourism by offering visitors more options for lunch and other activities in addition to what they would typically find on Elk Avenue.

Sherwood explains that a new consultant has helped grow the vision for the Biery-Witt Center. While the organization engaged a theatrical consultant and an acoustician from the beginning, it recently added JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle, IP, Inc.) consultants to the mix. Their expertise lies in convention and conference space planning, a niche that the board of directors and staff hope to fill with the Biery-Witt Center, serving groups between 200 and 500 people. Rather than focus solely on the building, they’re now looking at ways to integrate the entire Mt. Crested Butte area into the plan.

“How do we make Mt. Crested Butte come together as more of a convention/campus-type of approach that utilizes the Lodge at Mountaineer Square and the Elevation Hotel, including Ten Peaks and Uley’s?

“How do we bring all the pieces of the community together and then integrate the facilities and make sure that what we’re building at the Biery-Witt Center is not a replication but truly a complement to the existing facilities and becomes the glue that brings the whole thing together?” Sherwood explained.

He says the campus approach has been a paradigm shift for the Biery-Witt Center. Rather than staying within a convention center the entire time, groups could utilize the different aspects of the Base Area and enjoy the beauty of Crested Butte Mountain.

Angela Diaz, communications and administrative director, pointed out, “That’s why they’re coming to Crested Butte and not going to a typical metropolitan environment for a convention or a meeting or a vacation.”

Diaz and Sherwood both emphasize that integrating conferences into the Biery-Witt Center is intended to help create a sustainable facility, which will also house the Crested Butte Music Festival. Yet they hope it will contribute to the economic sustainability of Mt. Crested Butte as well.

“The word ‘grow’ scares a lot of people right now,” Sherwood said. “The key to remember is that we don’t feel this is a project that causes us to grow around the waist so much as it is a project that helps us smooth out the highs and lows of the seasons.”

He points out that it doesn’t make sense to bring a 500-person group into the valley in July. People are already here, and lodging is already full. He and Diaz see the real opportunity in the shoulder seasons, making it possible for more businesses to stay open without sacrificing some of the benefits of the down time, like vacation.

“Perhaps businesses don’t totally go out of business those months. Maybe we fill the hotels and inspire retail activity in the shoulder season, really making it a sustainable community year round,” Diaz said.

The idea of enhancing the community is already playing a role in how the staff manages the BWC Café, formerly Camp 4 Coffee in Mountaineer Square. Last year, owners Al and Wynthia Smith donated the coffee shop to the Biery-Witt Center, with proceeds going toward the Center.

The Biery-Witt Center took over the coffee shop in time for ski season, and while it still serves Camp 4 Coffee, BWC Café makes its own food items and has added wine, beer, and alcohol for specialty coffees to the menu. It also stayed open for most of the off-season in the spring.

“We’re trying to be more inclusive and more of a partner to town,” Sherwood said, noting that it’s nice to have a sense of activity at the Base Area year round. “Even in May, it’s nice to be able to go someplace and get a cup of coffee.”

Staff and board members also continue to communicate with the Center for the Arts in Crested Butte, which is in the process of designing and raising funds for its own new facility. Talks began in order to ensure the facilities complement each other rather than duplicating roles, and over time led to the realization that the organizations might be able to share some management aspects of the facilities. Everything from ticket sales and facility maintenance to leadership and marketing have been discussed.

First things are first, however: raising the remaining funds for the Biery-Witt Center. As staff and the board prepare for the home stretch, Diaz says they are still in the silent phase, meeting one on one with potential donors. They plan to conduct a public campaign and reengage the architect once they hit the $25 million mark—about $900,000 away.

“We do look at this summer as a very critical summer,” Diaz said. “We would like to raise about $900,000 by the end of this year. Best case scenario, we break ground in spring of 2017 with an opening in summer of 2018.”

“We’re certainly prepared that it might be later in ‘17 with an opening in ‘19,” Sherwood added.

While the silent campaign is under way, donations of all sizes are being welcomed. For more information or to donate, visit https://mcbpac.org.