After the area lost three theaters to development, it looks as if arts development projects are coming back. One plan looks to expand a cultural site on Fillmore Avenue while another would convert of a former church on Richmond into a dance center.
The city Planning Board heard details yesterday on the two projects, a major renovation and expansion of the historic Adam Mickiewicz center at Fillmore and Paderewski and re-starting conversion of an old church at Richmond and Ferry into a home for dance, local and road show companies.
"There was definitely a need we identified two years ago when we started looking at the market and what kinds of spaces for arts needed to come on line," said Rachel Heckl, who says her project will help a thriving dance community.
"So, when we saw there wasn't really a dance hub, we wanted to create that."
The other project is right across town, in a building which has been a literary center and theater for generations. It's now the home for Torn Space Theater. Artistic Director Dan Shanahan says it's good for the neighborhood, faced with a deteriorating gas station and its torn-up parking lot an eyesore. The plan calls for the gas station to be turned into a working home for arts productions along with more work on the main Mickiewicz building, all together a $700,000 project.