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Main St. plan alters cultural landmarks

Posted on August 21, 2008 by Staff

As project proceeds The ArtsCenter, Cat’s Cradle look to the future

by Kirk Ross
Staff Writer

Editor’s note: This is the second part of a series on the 300 East Main Street project. The stories can be found on The Citizen website at www.carrborocitizen.com/main

CARRBORO — It might be called 300 East Main, but the massive redevelopment project poised for review by the Carrboro Board of Aldermen includes several other addresses up and down two blocks of Main Street, extending from Boyd Street to Roberson Street.

And though the changes planned are considerable all along the stretch, the namesake address has special meaning for the town in large part because two of the present occupiers of 300 East Main represent for many the cultural center of Carrboro.

The ArtsCenter and Cat’s Cradle, longtime venues and a major draw for visitors and residents to downtown, are in a unique situation, with both the developer and the town keenly interested in seeing them prosper in the new surroundings.

Mayor Mark Chilton said Wednesday that, all along, the developer has tried to find a way to develop the site without losing the current tenants. When it comes to the two cultural institutions at the location, he said, there’s also an understanding that they’re not just economically important, but a key to the town’s “vibe.”

Board of Aldermen member Jacquie Gist says it is critical that the ArtsCenter and Cat’s Cradle thrive in the new development.

“Carrboro would not be what it is without the ArtsCenter,” she said. “It was the first step in our becoming what we are now. The Cradle has certainly added to that. I can’t imagine Carrboro without them.”

“They’re integral to 300 East Main,” Laura Van Sant, a partner in developer Main Street Properties of Chapel Hill and the LLC’s spokesperson. “We want them to expand and be successful.”

The relationship of the arts nonprofit to the development has a long history.

“The ArtsCenter is the only reason Main Street Properties owns this property,” Van Sant said, referring to a deal struck in the 1980s when the original group of partners, which included ArtsCenter executive director Jacques Menache, put together a deal for the shopping center at 300 East Main St. and moved The ArtsCenter to the location.

Menache, who was criticized over the deal at the time, is no longer a partner in Main Street Properties, but he has since returned to The ArtsCenter, joining its board of directors last year.

The history is significant because as a result of the arrangement, The ArtsCenter owns its footprint, 14,000-square-foot building and the airspace above it.

ArtsCenter executive director Jon Wilner said he looks forward to The ArtsCenter being in the middle of a major new center in downtown.

“Judging from what I’ve heard over the years from Main Street Partners, this is certainly not going to be another Streets at Southpoint,” he said. “It’s going to be a Carrboro environment. It’s pretty exciting”

Wilner said there are challenges though. While the nonprofit is certainly advantaged by the fact that it owns its own space, there’s been an additional layer of complexity to working out how to expand.

The ArtsCenter is studying how best to approach a capital campaign. An open house and discussion held last fall gathered ideas, but the nonprofit’s leadership is hesitant to start a campaign until it has its development staff and infrastructure in place.

Wilner said there’s consensus that the current building is not adequate and that the nonprofit would need about 40,000 square feet, much of that to expand its venues and house classroom space for a growing number of youth-oriented programs. The working cost estimate of the expansion would be between $7 and $10 million.

Then there’s how a new building would fit on the property and work with the rest of the development.

As yet, there’s no agreement between The ArtsCenter and Main Street Properties on exactly where a new ArtsCenter might be located, what goes in it and how construction will happen.

That, Wilner said, has made it difficult to launch a capital campaign.

“You can’t launch a capital campaign until you know what it’s for, and what it’s for includes where it’s going to be exactly and what’s going to be in it.”

Placeholder

In the plans submitted to the town, there are several placeholder buildings intended to give those reviewing the project an idea of the rough size of each building proposed so that parking requirements and other infrastructure can be determined. For now, The ArtsCenter’s placeholder is a 60,000-square-foot building, nearly three times the size of its current space.

Wilner said that may seem like a lot given that The ArtsCenter has identified the need for 40,00 square feet. But there are ideas in the works which could require more space. He recently held another round of discussions with county and school-system leaders about possible partnerships with The ArtsCenter. Among the ideas being discussed are sharing a new building with a downtown library and an arts magnet middle school.

Although Wilner says both ideas right now are longshots, he’s concerned that if one or both of them came to fruition the 60,000-square-foot limit could be exceeded. A new building with both a school and a library could require up to 95,000 square feet.

Van Sant said nothing is set in stone and that Main Street Properties would try to find a way to accommodate an expansion should it come. But she acknowledged that The ArtsCenter is in a chicken-and-egg situation.

A two-story Cradle

Slightly less complicated is a proposal to move Cat’s Cradle, now about 10 years old in its present location, to a new site with enough room for a second floor.

Van Sant said one scenario calls for the Cradle to move to a five-story building located in the area where The ArtsCenter’s eastern-most parking lot is now located. Restaurant and retail space are slated for the ground floor, Van Sant said. The Cradle would occupy the second and third floors of the building with a main floor and a mezzanine or balcony that could be closed off for smaller shows and opened up to allow the venue to host larger acts.

Cradle owner Frank Heath said he’s optimistic about the idea and is working toward a way to get the construction and planning accomplished. With a long series of discussions on the project already under his belt, he’s practical about the timing though. It’s amazing, he said, about how long the process takes.

“We’ve talked about it for a lot of years,” he said. “If the original plan had gone through, we’d already be rocking in a new location.”

3 thoughts on “Main St. plan alters cultural landmarks”

  1. Elvisboy88 says:
    August 21, 2008 at 3:25 pm

    Goodbye Cats Cradle and Artcenter, thanks for the memories. Move over,big bidness is taking over.

  2. Ben says:
    August 26, 2008 at 8:52 pm

    I just watched the BOA meeting on cable at home and I am greatful at least that people of all ages and backgrounds value the Artscenter and Cat’s Cradle. It’s pretty awesome to watch people in their 50’s fight to keep the Cradle as a focal part of our community. Here Here! – thanks for the coverage CT

  3. Weaverguy says:
    September 1, 2008 at 6:41 am

    The gravitational center of “vibe” “mojo” and arts is moving north, to Hillsborough. It is the new up and coming hip place, lots of music, arts, fairs etc. Go Hillsborough!!!

    Carrboro is so “yesterday” that it doesn’t matter what they build. Good luck trying to fill those hotel rooms!

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