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Cultural Facilities: FINDINGS The Importance of Cultural Facilities in Communities Cultural facilities perform an important community role. They draw people and create a positive economic impact on surrounding businesses. Once built, they become centerpieces of a community and often contribute to changing or enhancing a city or region’s image. A ready example is provided by the image of the Sydney opera house, which has become a signature feature of communicating Australia’s and that city’s image to the world. Cultural facilities also enhance the ambiance and image of the neighborhoods in which they are built, bringing with them economic value. They cause ancillary businesses to develop and enhance the commercial revitalization plans of public sector planning agencies and that of private property developers. The presence of viable public facilities also contributes to the quality of life of our communities. A recent article in the Montgomery Extra of The Washington Post heralded Montgomery County’s coming of age with the development of facilities that “gives [Montgomery County] residents something interesting to do near home…[T]he tipping point is a critical mass of arts group….” Cultural destinations of the highest quality also create an environment in which organizations and artists can create the best possible product for community consumption. In creating facilities, one must take into account the unique demands in presenting different art forms. Performing and visual arts organizations need space that is technically equipped and designed to show the art form to its best advantage. Technical support and equipment should be at professional standards with amenities that meet public expectations. Investment by communities in facilities is as important to an arts organization’s well-being as their receipt of contributions or other financing. Each of these investments helps ensure the vitality and longevity of cultural institutions. Both mature and emerging local arts organizations benefit from obtaining permanent space for their work and program development. Rather than multi-purpose space, the arts need dependable, dedicated space where people know they can consistently go to find a reliable level of quality of arts programming. They also need facilities that are accessible by both vehicular and public transportation. Only in this way do organizations build audience and revenue. An examination of cultural facilities in the county also provides an opportunity to look at the issue of heritage and preservation. Significant elements of Montgomery County’s more than 200-year history have been preserved through the efforts of public agencies, nonprofit organizations and citizen advocates. These sites provide additional cultural destinations for residents and visitors alike and are important history lessons for our young people. Other historic properties have been lost or are in danger of being lost. This chapter on cultural facilities also addresses these heritage and preservation concerns. In addition to facilities for the use of the public in participating in the arts and culture of the community, it is important to recognize that providing affordable live/work spaces for individual artists contributes to maintaining a community’s creative brain trust. For it is these artists to whom our cultural organizations turn to mount productions, exhibitions and other cultural presentations to the public. These individuals bring their talents to bear on behalf of the community and generally enliven the creative life of the community, interacting with the business and social sector in direct and indirect ways. Existing Facilities in the County The consultant team visited about 25 existing facilities and sites selected by Arts and Humanities Council staff. These visits were designed to allow the consultants to assess the need for new and improved facilities that will meet the growing needs of the Montgomery County community and its cultural organizations. The sample included both publicly- and privately-owned and operated facilities. The sample was not intended to provide an exhaustive inventory of all cultural and arts facilities, but it included those that were generally recognized as the most widely used cultural venues in the county as well as those that could illuminate other facilities issues. (A description of these facilities is included as Appendix E.) The following represents a summary of the facilities reviewed by the consultant team. This summary also highlights some of the challenges of presenting cultural programs in these venues. Performing
Spaces The administrative and theatre space currently being used by Round House Theatre is located in a former elementary school that also houses the County Recreation Department. When Round House moves to their new home in downtown Bethesda, the theater space could offer an opportunity for another user or users to take advantage of an existing facility. The consultants found that theater and music groups often find it necessary to book their productions at public schools. In the case of high schools, this typically means a 1,200-1,400-seat auditorium with limited technical capabilities. Middle schools usually offer a small stage in a multi-purpose/cafeteria room setting with folding chairs for the audience. Neither environment offers the kind of audience atmosphere desirable for smaller and mid-sized performing groups whose audiences tend to range from 150 – 500. Although several ballet companies in the county perform at the Parilla Performing Arts Center in Rockville, many dance groups based in Montgomery County can be found performing at the Dance Place in Washington, DC, or at the Publick Playhouse in Prince George’s County. Visual Arts Despite these numbers, each location can host only a limited number of shows each year and local artists state emphatically that there is not enough exhibition space to allow exposure for the wide variety of talent that exists in the county. For example, a recent call for artists for a show in Gaithersburg offered an opportunity for 60 artists to hang two works each. The response was so overwhelming that the offer was changed to one work each from 120 artists and a waiting list was established. There also is only a limited amount of publicly-supported studio space available for artists. Rockville Arts Place, supported by the City of Rockville and the Arts and Humanities Council, offers 11 studios for limited-time leases. Some studios can accommodate more than one artist so that approximately 12-16 artists work there at any given time. The renovated Barn at Kentlands in Gaithersburg also will include several artist studios. In downtown Bethesda, a group of artists has studios in a series of rented storefronts known as Bethesda ArtSpace. However, artists who participated in the planning process criticized the lack of a space in Montgomery County like the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Virginia. Not only do artists have studio spaces there, but the facility is large enough to have become a tourist attraction bringing many people to see art being made as well as to purchase art. Humanities Facilities
in Planning or Development It is clear that in Montgomery County, cultural facilities and the programs they support are the pride of local communities. As such, it is important for the County government to consider communities that currently lack these features as locations that would benefit most from new and improved cultural venues and plan development of new facilities in these communities whenever possible. Attention must be paid to the correct location of new facilities in order to ensure some reasonable geographic distribution of new spaces around the county and to take best advantage of current and projected transportation patterns in the county. Up-county regions and the eastern portion of the county lag behind in cultural services and facilities. Capital development funding for existing institutions has been generous during the Duncan administration. This commitment of capital funds is exemplary. However, it has not been part of an overall evaluation process that determines the merits of individual projects, long-term facility needs, the capacity of the sponsoring group to provide an equitable share of capital and operating funds, or the availability of increased programming to utilize the new facilities. Facilities now in the planning and development stages include: AFI (Silver) Theater in downtown Silver Spring: The new American Film Institute (AFI) Theater in Silver Spring is part of the Silver Spring redevelopment project. The landmark art deco Silver Theater will be renovated for the American Film Institute with 400-, 225- and 75-seat screening theaters for AFI’s programming. Silver Spring Intermediate School Auditorium (Old Blair High School): This auditorium is currently unused, but plans are under consideration to renovate the facility into a 1,000-seat performing arts venue with a balcony. If this project is completed, it will be one of the few facilities in the area that could support mid-sized touring shows. Silver Spring Civic Building: This 45,000 square foot building will be completed in FY04 as part of the Silver Spring redevelopment. It will include administrative offices and classrooms for the Round House Theatre School upper grades; a great hall of approximately 5,500-6,000 square feet to accommodate exhibitions, fairs, dance, theater, dinners and meetings; several 1,500 and 750 square foot classroom/meeting rooms; and a “front porch” that will be equipped as a stage and allow outdoor presentations to the abutting Veterans Plaza. Imagination Stage (Bethesda Academy of Performing Arts) in downtown Bethesda: This new facility, planned as part of the construction of the County’s Garage 49, will replace BAPA’s existing offices and classrooms now at the former Whittier Elementary School and the children’s theater located in a storefront inside White Flint. In addition to offices and classrooms, the new facility is designed to provide greatly enhanced performance and rehearsal facilities with a 340-seat theatre for the professional company and a 200-seat theatre for student productions. BlackRock Center for the Arts, Germantown: This new organization will not only operate a new facility, but will provide a wide range of programs and will have a variety of spaces to support them. The Center is planned to provide arts education, visual arts studios and performing arts programs. The first phase performing arts facilities are community-oriented. A 125-seat drama theatre with semi-circular seating and a small thrust stage, and a flexible black box space with 100 seats for dance provide intimate settings for community uses. The BlackRock Center was made possible by the Montgomery County Planning Board who granted permission for added density at a big box shopping center in exchange for this cultural amenity. The developers’ donation of land and funds allowed a nonprofit organization to be formed to undertake the design of the center and contributed to the cost of the project. Additional funds must be raised to complete the construction and support the operation of the center. Glen Echo Park: Several groups and individuals (co-operators) use the park facilities for various cultural, visual and performing arts functions under agreements with the National Park Service. Plans are now underway with federal, state and county funding to renovate key properties on the site. This is very likely to increase the rental paid by the two performing arts organizations that are located in the Park: Adventure Theatre: This organization provides children’s theatre performances and classes in a facility in the North Arcade building. The facility seats approximately 190 on a series of carpeted risers. Administrative offices, scenery, props and costumes shops are all in the same facility with little physical separation between spaces. The theater’s infrastructure and technical facilities are limited and in dire need of improvement. Improved rehearsal space, additional storage and proper shop facilities also are needed. The Puppet Co. Playhouse: This organization operates in an intimate facility seating approximately 150-200. Over 100,000 audience members, adults and children, attend their performances each year. The playhouse will move into temporary space while the building they occupy is undergoing renovation and then will move into a newly-constructed theater in the North Arcade Building. Liz Lerman Dance Exchange: This nationally renowned company’s studios are located in Takoma Park. They have purchased a duplex adjacent to their current property, a former post office, and will be renovating the new space to accommodate offices, community meeting space and a "cyber-lounge” computer center. The existing space houses studios and instructional space. In the largest studio, they are planning improvements that will allow it to be converted into a performance space when needed, with an audience of about 75 people. Montgomery College, Takoma Park: Arts facilities at the Takoma Park campus currently are limited. However, the college is planning a new arts center that will include an auditorium with fixed seating for 500. It will be equipped with a sprung floor and a music shell making it suitable for music and dance performances. It also will include a small thrust theatre space primarily for use as a classroom but with some availability for outside use. As with the Parilla Performing Arts Center on the Rockville campus, it is expected that this center will be used both by the college and by community organizations. The center is scheduled for completion in the 2005-2006 time period. Olney Theatre Center: The Olney Theatre Center is in the process of implementing a long-range expansion/renovation program. Already completed is a rehearsal hall that can also be used for smaller productions. The limited technical facilities and restricted sight lines in the main theater impose a limitation on the company’s productions and the quality of the audience experience. The renovation program underway will address this need and provide another performing space to create a performing arts campus. Pyramid Atlantic: Pyramid Atlantic is a nonprofit arts center dedicated to the creation and appreciation of printmaking, hand papermaking and the art of the book. They are currently located in Prince George’s County and are planning to move to a 13,425 square foot site at Georgia Avenue and Ripley Street in Silver Spring. This project will provide another arts component to the Silver Spring revitalization program. Round House Theatre: Round House Theatre currently occupies a facility in Wheaton with a theater seating about 220. They are scheduled to move into a new 400-seat theater with significantly improved technical accommodations under construction in downtown Bethesda. This is another example of the success of efforts by the Montgomery County Planning Board to obtain cultural amenities in exchange for density increases. In this case, Chevy Chase Bank is building the theater as part of the optional method
of development of their headquarters building at a prime location in Bethesda.
Round House also operates education and outreach programs at a new but
temporary location in downtown Silver Spring. They are scheduled to move
to permanent space in downtown Silver Spring as part of the downtown redevelopment
effort. They also will have a black box theater space in Silver Spring.
Their current Wheaton facility is very limited. However, it will be available
for other uses and might be appropriate for lectures, forums and other
humanities activities. Strathmore Hall: Plans are underway to build an $89 million concert hall and education center adjacent to Strathmore Hall. The 2,000-seat concert hall, scheduled to break ground in April, will be the first permanent home for Masterworks Chorus and the Montgomery County Youth Orchestras who currently have no administrative space or reserved performing venues. It will host performances by the National Chamber Orchestra, based in Rockville, as well as approximately 30 performances a year by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. The accompanying education center will offer private classes in vocal and instrumental music. The County government and the state will each contribute $44.5 million to the project’s construction. The County will own the building. The Strathmore Hall Foundation will be responsible for operating the programs and is seeking private funding to underwrite operations. The County also will build a 1,500-space parking garage at the Grosvenor/Strathmore Metro Station across Tuckerman Lane from Strathmore Hall to provide commuter parking as well as parking for the new concert hall and education center. Facilities currently being developed and the assessment of needs undertaken by the consultants raise several issues: 1. New projects will provide additional space for performances, but they will not substantially increase the performance venues for those groups who rely on rental space. New facilities currently being planned for the Round House Theatre, Olney Theatre and BAPA promise to provide improvements for these performing companies, but these facilities are not aimed at increasing opportunities for groups who rely on rental spaces. Olney Theatre’s recently completed rehearsal/flexible performance space has increased that company’s options. It is possible that the planned new Olney main stage facility will provide some opportunity for outside groups to gain access to the existing main theatre for productions. This could represent some new dates for groups in need of performance space. The planned performance spaces at BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantown are intended to be available for rental by community performing arts groups, but those spaces will likely be programmed by the management. The facilities are modest in scope and, while they can be expected to help ease the burden for some small groups in need of performance venues, they will not alleviate much of the rental facility shortage in the county. Participants in the planning process cited facilities like Parilla Performing Arts Center, Fitzgerald Theatre and the Publick Playhouse (in Prince George’s County) as models that need to be replicated to provide adequate space for performing groups who rely on rental space. In a recent space survey conducted by AHCMC, 30 of the 40 respondents indicated some need for rental space. Of these 30, 19 expressed a need for a theatre with fixed seating. These organizations include theater; choral, orchestral and other music groups; and dance groups. 2. A new facility will help support the up-county population. Ground has been broken for a new facility in Germantown, the BlackRock Center for the Arts, which is discussed above. The City of Gaithersburg also has taken some preliminary steps toward planning for a new 500-seat facility in Gaithersburg. That facility would help support the burgeoning up-county population. Also, some study participants suggested the Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg as a good site to develop festivals. In fact, the Latino Festival draws between 40,000 and 50,000 people to the Fairgrounds each year. The Irish Festival sponsored by the National Council of Traditional Arts also is held at the Fairgrounds. 3. Several new facilities will bring increased cultural attention and economic value to Silver Spring. The downtown Silver Spring cultural arts district will put that community on the cultural map. Of the projects in planning or underway, the prospect of a significant renovation of the auditorium at the old Blair High School (Silver Spring Intermediate School) provides the greatest promise for creation of a quality performing arts venue that could be usable by a wide variety of local groups, as well as national touring companies. The venue would feature 1,000 seats, an orchestra pit, and dressing rooms. A study was just completed of the costs of renovation. The community is assessing viability of the project and examining fundraising strategies. Although the venue is located near the downtown Silver Spring redevelopment, it is far enough from the downtown area and Metro to be considered not within walking distance. Vehicle access and parking at the school for any daytime events may be problematic and it is not clear at this time whether there is enough parking available even during non-school hours. While the project makes good sense from the perspective of reuse of existing facilities, the fact that it is attached to a middle school must be reviewed for its impact on the venue’s efficacy as a high-quality performance space. The cost and functional impact of the project must be carefully evaluated. Also, the fact that the school system owns the building may be a problem. The County has created a major redevelopment project in Silver Spring, including a new Fresh Fields Market, and a major mixed-use development, with residential units, a hotel, retail, civic offices, restaurants and the Silver Theater complex to be occupied by AFI. The financing is one-third public funding and two-thirds private funding. The public portion is financing the land acquisition, two parking garages, streetscapes, the renovation of the Silver Theatre for occupancy by AFI, and the Civic Building. New facilities at the planned Silver Spring Civic Building could offer expanded opportunities for cultural groups. Existing facilities, such as the Wayne Avenue garage in Silver Spring and the Walter Reed Annex at Forest Glen, are good candidates for redevelopment to serve this need. Redevelopment and adaptive reuse of these types of spaces are an excellent way to join historic preservation with development of the cultural arts. 4. A new high-profile facility--the concert hall at Strathmore--has the potential to become a focal point for cultural activity in the county. The planned new concert facility at Strathmore Hall in North Bethesda is expected to provide classical music programming by the National Chamber Orchestra, Montgomery County Youth Orchestras and Masterworks Chorus and Orchestra as well as a local performance venue for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. It also will provide rental space for other performances such as those produced by the Washington Performing Arts Society. The new Strathmore Hall concert venue is being designed to accommodate major orchestras and other first-class music groups. Typically, concert halls are very specialized venues, not suitable for uses other than classical music. However, this facility is being designed so that other performing arts activities, such as non-classical forms of music, can be accommodated. It appears that Strathmore Hall will become a major destination for music in Montgomery County. For the moment, the excitement about the new concert hall has created a sense of accomplishment that is certainly well deserved. However, this should not obscure the fact that the concert hall will not accommodate theater and dance productions and that organizations presenting theater and dance performances are still in need of additional rental performance venues. The Need
for Additional Facilities From the information gathered during the site visits and interviews with facility users and operators, a number of critical issues related to facilities have emerged. General
Needs
The Performing
Arts
Given the un-addressed needs of existing and new groups in the community who rely on rental space, two additional 450-seat multi-user theaters are needed. Potential locations for these include eastern Montgomery County and Gaithersburg. The Visual
Arts
The Humanities
historic sites. Recently, the county has been designated as a “heritage tourism area.” Hopefully, this will lead to greater awareness of and more resources for preservation of historic sites. Incubator Spaces
2. Cultural
Facilities: RECOMMENDATIONS Cultural facilities are a critical component of the infrastructure that supports cultural arts programs. The County government has embarked on an ambitious effort to support the development of the arts and humanities in Montgomery County. The following recommendations address key elements of this effort: 2.1 To meet the current and growing need for cultural facilities, the County should continue to support the development of new facilities and the maintenance and renovation of existing facilities through the Capital Improvements Program (C.I.P.) and through the Cultural Facility Improvements Grant program from the County’s Operating Budget. Every community develops its own pattern for the planning, development and funding of its cultural facilities. At the same time, there are several national trends that should be noted and that might impact Montgomery County’s long-term facility development program. Those trends include public/private partnerships in the building of new cultural facilities, public ownership and maintenance of cultural facilities, and long-term leases of these facilities to nonprofit cultural groups for operations and programming. While Montgomery County may not be ready to follow these trends, particularly in requiring major private sector support for facility construction, future planning should move in these directions. Although this is reiterated here, it is, in reality, a funding recommendation. The County should continue to increase its operating support for local arts and cultural groups and should continue to increase its funding to support capital facility development. At the same time, it is important to note that the ongoing maintenance and upgrading of these facilities are essential parts of the program. Lead Agency: AHCMC Montgomery County Department of Recreation Montgomery County Department of Public Works and Transportation Timeline: FY 2002-06 Initial Steps:
2.2 The County Recreation Department, in consultation with AHCMC, should initiate a process to review and prioritize funding requests for Cultural Facility Improvements Grants from the County’s Operating Budget, including a requirement that cultural organizations planning new or enlarged facilities submit a multi-year business plan for operations if they are requesting $100,000 or more in government support. One of the driving impulses behind this cultural planning process arose from a concern on the part of the County Council about the number of cultural facility capital improvement requests that it was receiving each year. The concern centered on the perception that there was no overall vision guiding capital development and, perhaps more importantly, no meaningful review that would assess the merits of each request. It is not the intention of the consultant team to suggest that the projects funded in the past were not worthwhile or that the current requests are without merit. Rather, it is simply suggested that a panel review process will give the County greater confidence that these projects are needed and will give substantial benefits to the citizens of Montgomery County. It is recommended that this review process include requirements for the submission of a business plan for grant requests that exceed $100,000 and for a site visit for requests that exceed $500,000. Only a few of the organizations requesting funding assistance for capital facility development and renovation have done forward planning to determine what the impact of expanded/improved facilities will have on their programs and on their maintenance and operations costs. In many cases, organizations may simply be unfamiliar with such planning methods. In order to ensure meaningful evaluation of funding requests for these purposes, the Arts and Humanities Council should assist the cultural groups in developing such business plans through a technical assistance program. While this effort will entail some up-front costs on the part of the County, they will be minor in comparison to total dollars that have been and continue to be spent on this annual capital funding process. This recommendation is that there be an annual review process including a panel review to evaluate the requests. The panel would be composed of persons knowledgeable in the arts and cultural disciplines, as well as architects and public policy makers. The requests should be evaluated on criteria that would include but not be limited to
Lead Agencies: Montgomery County Department of Recreation AHCMC Timeline: FY 2002 Initial Steps:
2.3 Because the Cultural Facility Improvements Grant program requires that organizations spend money on projects before being reimbursed for these expenses, the County should create a revolving loan fund to advance monies to organizations that receive these grants as “bridge loans” before the grant dollars are disbursed. Lead Agencies: Montgomery County Department of Recreation Montgomery County Department of Finance AHCMC Initial Steps:
2.4 The County should build and/or support the development of new cultural presentation facilities. New facilities should include: At least one theater available at affordable rates to multiple users. The process needs to ensure that there will be access by all county-based nonprofit dance, theater, music and other performing groups on an equitable basis. New performing arts spaces should be planned to meet the following criteria: a dedicated management entity to facilitate rentals and programming functions to promote wide community use; high-quality mid-sized (400-1,000 seats) theatrical spaces with full stage rigging, lighting and sound equipment; large rehearsal/multi-use space (equivalent to stage size); lobby space with provision for visual arts exhibitions or dedicated gallery space; and placement of facilities consistent with county growth and transportation policies. At least one visual art exhibition space to display work by county artists. This space should be designed to include museum-quality space for the display of work by the county’s professional artists, as well as galleries for rotating exhibits of additional artwork. Lead Agencies: AHCMC Planning Board County Executive and County Council Timeline: FY 2002 Initial Steps:
2.5 The County should develop a request for proposals process for the reuse of the theater facility now used by the Round House Theatre to ensure that this space continues to be available for cultural activities when Round House moves into its new venue. Due to the shortage of cultural performing and presenting space, the selection process should give added weight to a feasible proposal that will allow the space to be used by more than one cultural organization. Considering the shortage of cultural spaces, the County should move quickly to get any facilities in transition back on line. The Round House Theatre space, with 220 seats, will continue to be an important venue. The County should ask the Arts and Humanities Council to assist in identifying potential users who could develop proposals for use of
Lead Agencies: Montgomery County Department of Recreation AHCMC Initial Steps:
2.6 The County should support the development of one or more incubator spaces accompanied by support services to assist emerging artists and arts and humanities organizations, with particular attention to the needs of culturally specific communities. The cultural usage of these incubators should be overseen by the AHCMC. Montgomery County has many small cultural groups that are struggling to survive. In many instances, they represent the efforts of newly arrived immigrant groups to find some cultural and artistic expression in their new communities. In other cases, they are simply small and emerging groups that are highly dependent on volunteer staff, with scant resources to devote to the most basic organizational infrastructure. Incubators have proven around the country to be especially effective tools in beginning the process of institutionalization that will ensure that these groups will survive and thrive over the long haul. At a minimum, an incubator should include:
In developing these spaces, the County should evaluate existing spaces for possible redevelopment and adaptive reuse to foster the spirit of historic preservation. Possible sites might be the Walter Reed Annex at Forest Glen or the Wayne Avenue Garage. In addition, the creation of incubator spaces should be considered whenever the County develops new, community based arts facilities. Lead Agency: AHCMC Timeline: FY 2002 – 04 Initial Steps:
2.7 In consultation with the many historical and cultural organizations in the county, the County government or the Montgomery County Planning Board should begin planning for the development of a county Museum of Culture and History. Planning for this museum should consider the inclusion of art, technology, science, humanities and history. The museum should provide a location for the exhibition of local history collections, museum quality space for loaned exhibitions and artwork, and meeting and lecture spaces for history and humanities programs. Montgomery County is a rapidly urbanizing area with a sophisticated, educated and affluent citizenry. Despite that, there are only a few museums in the county and these are devoted to a very specific topics, e.g., the Sandy Spring Museum, the National Capital Trolley Museum and the Sandy Spring Slave Museum. No doubt the proximity to Washington, DC, and its many world-class museum institutions has inhibited the development of indigenous cultural museums in the county. At the same time, the population of the county is large enough, and has a demographic profile that would support a museum, particularly an institution that would offer the opportunity to exhibit the many smaller historic collections that tell the rich story of Montgomery County’s history. If developed, this county Museum at a minimum could serve the following functions: a) provide a location for the Montgomery County Historical Society collection; b) provide museum-quality rotating galleries for various visual arts exhibitions; and c) provide meeting and lecture spaces. Lead Agencies: Historic
Preservation Office and Commission Montgomery County Department of Public Works and Transportation AHCMC Initial Steps:
2.8 The Montgomery County Planning Board should continue to encourage developers to provide cultural amenities as part of their developments in exchange for increased density. The cities of Rockville and Gaithersburg should also seek ways to include cultural amenities in their developments. The AHCMC should provide a list of needed cultural amenities based on the recommendations of this Plan. This policy has been proven to be a successful strategy to create new cultural facilities. The most notable examples of this are the BlackRock Center for the Arts and Round House Theatre, which were mandated as part of the approval process for major commercial developments. Several of the facilities recommended in this plan would be suitable for development by these means, including multi-user performance venues and incubator spaces. As an alternative to developing a facility, developers should be offered the opportunity to pay a cultural impact fee in lieu. That fee could be pegged at 75% or 80% of the cost of creating a new facility in order to encourage the development of a cultural facilities trust fund that could be used to construct new facilities or renovate existing venues. The Montgomery County Planning Board should work with the Arts and Humanities Council to compile a list of critical cultural facilities that need to be developed. The priority list should include not only exhibition and performance venues, but also other needed facilities such as costume and set shops, storage facilities, rehearsal facilities, etc. This list should be reviewed and updated annually. Naturally, it cannot be assumed that an appropriate developer amenity opportunity will always emerge at the proper time. If it does not appear that this mechanism will result in the development of a needed facility within a reasonable period of time, the County should pursue alternative means of building the facility. Lead Agencies: Montgomery County Planning Board Cities of Rockville and Gaithersburg AHCMC Initial Steps:
2.9 The County should continue to pursue a strategy of cultural districts and/or arts and entertainment districts as it plans new facilities. The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County currently is working to develop arts and entertainment districts in the county. An arts and entertainment district is a well-recognized, labeled, mixed-use area in which a high concentration of cultural facilities serves as the anchor of attraction. Like Providence, Pittsburgh, Tucson and New York City who have similar districts in place, the concept will enable areas of Montgomery County to use the arts like an enterprise zone to promote economic development and to create new jobs in older areas that need to be revitalized. In these cities, officials have turned to artists for help to further economic vitality. The districts will provide tax incentives to artists and arts organizations that have moved to establish an arts and entertainment district and then in turn bring back those who have stopped coming to town centers for shopping and amusement. In Providence, for example, there is a waiting list of over a hundred artists ready to move into formerly vacant, now renovated retail buildings that will serve as artists’ lofts, galleries and dance studios. Arts and entertainment districts in the county will each be unique. Some will be economic tools for urban renewal while, in other, areas they will be developed to encourage a spirit and sense of place. The opportunity exists to use the arts "proactively" that is, to stave off the crisis other communities have experienced by enhancing, encouraging and enlarging that which already exists. It is an economic "wellness" strategy on a community-wide scale. There are many areas of the County that could be developed as an arts and entertainment district such as Gaithersburg, Rockville, Bethesda, Silver Spring, and Wheaton. There are already committees working on establishing districts in Bethesda and Silver Spring. Undoubtedly, the effort to do this in Silver Spring, with the Civic Center, the American Film Institute complex and the Round House Theatre School, will be rewarded with increased public participation and economic activity. Each decision to create a new cultural facility should look for nearby opportunities that might form the nucleus of an arts and entertainment district. Lead Agencies: Montgomery County Chambers of Commerce City of Gaithersburg AHCMC
2.10 As the Montgomery County Planning Board reviews and updates community master plans, consideration should be given to identifying potential sites for future cultural facilities. It is not possible for a cultural plan of this breadth and scope to study potential facility sites on a detailed community-by-community basis. However, this certainly falls within the purview of the Montgomery County Planning Board’s community planning activities. The Planning Board should consult with AHCMC during the planning process for each community to identify potential sites for future cultural facilities. Lead Agencies: Montgomery County Planning Board AHCMC Initial Steps:
2.11 The appropriate agencies should receive funding and be encouraged to preserve, stabilize and eventually renovate historic sites owned by the County. We heard during our interviews and public forums that County-owned historic sites are being neglected. These are resources that cannot be replaced once lost. Additional funding should be allocated to stabilize sites that are deteriorating until plans can be made for renovation and possibly reuse. Lead Agencies: Historic Preservation Office and Commission Montgomery County Historical Society AHCMC Initial Steps:
2.12 The County should approve the Historic Preservation Office’s request for funding for grant funding and loans that would be used to restore historic sites not owned by the County. The Historic Preservation Office currently administers a very small grant and loan program for historic renovations. Consideration should be given to increasing these resources. Lead Agencies: County Executive and County CouncilHistoric Preservation Office AHCMC Initial Steps:
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