The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro has been asked by the Greensboro City Council to "convene a task force that will study the benefits of constructing a new state-of-the-art performing arts center."
Update: If the above link doesn't work for you then Ed Cone has it for you. Return to original post:
That's nice. They are to:
"* Creating an open, candid and constructive dialogue around the needs of a performing arts center;
*Creating an economic impact report and a feasibility analysis of a downtown facility; and
*Exploring private investors to complement public resources."
Again, no mention of East Greensboro or any other Greensboro neighborhood. How about the econonomic impact to East Greensboro-- should that not also be considered? Only the Greensboro Colliseum Complex and Downtown Greensboro are being considered. How can you possibly justify spending $72 Million Dollars of other people's money without first asking those people what they think? How can you call that being open and candid when the rest of the city isn't even mentioned?
What kind of private investors would want to do business with people who so carelessly throw other people's money around?
“There is a prevailing belief that Greensboro needs a quality performing arts facility – and that any public investment towards this as a means should bolster the economic vitality of our community as an end,” said Walker Sanders, president of The Community Foundation. “This is an important issue to examine for the future of Greensboro – and we should do so openly and with all voices clearly heard.”
Really? Even those of us who don't believe downtown and the Coliseum should even be in the running for a Greensboro Performing Arts Center? This should be fun. They get to have a conversation but we're just supposed to shut up and listen without our neighborhoods even being considered? I don't think so.
“Greensboro must maximize its economic vitality and attractiveness to pull in new jobs and retain the ones we already have,” Sanders said. “Our city now has a void in this regard because of the lack of a quality performing arts center. We want to ensure that a potential new facility can fill this void.”
All the more reason why an East Greensboro location where aesthetics and architecture can be made to encompass the entire area and not just one building, create dozens of new businesses and not just increase profits for existing businesses and fill the neighborhood void Greensboro's downtown developers created in the first place, will be the best choice.
“The city is looking forward to working with The Community Foundation to examine this issue fully,” said Denise Turner Roth, interim city manager. “For many years, there has been a lot of discussion about the possibility of a new performing arts center here, and it’s time that we take a close look at what this would actually mean. We want to be deliberate and thoughtful in how this evolves and choose the path that most benefits Greensboro.”
You think she really means it?
From YesWeekly!
"Transportation Director Adam Fischer said when his department presented to a previous council about the need for 400 to 500 more downtown parking spaces two years ago, council members wanted to wait and see if a new parking deck could be built in conjunction with a large economic development project.
The need for additional parking in the next two to five years is based off daytime usage, as numerous decks sit mostly empty at night and only two are 50-75 percent full, he said.
But what about daytime events?
“At night we could probably accommodate [performing arts center] events downtown with most of the parking that would be necessary,” said Fischer, who added that a center wouldn’t negatively impact traffic because of its size in comparison with daytime business traffic."
The site I'm proposing is also owned by the City Of Greensboro and parking isn't a problem. Between the other vacant city owned properties nearby and the ample street side parking we could hold events in the middle of the day without parking being an issue. Then, we could host performing arts events for children and old folks too.
"Downtown Greensboro Inc. President Ed Wolverton said there are at least 10 possible sites a performing arts center could be located downtown, many of which are owned by they city and are in close proximity to an existing parking deck."
Again, with the East Greensboro site, parking isn't an issue and the city owns the land already.
"If a center was built on land already owned by the city, or through an agreement with private owners who were supportive, the projected cost of $1 million to $3 million for land could come down significantly or become a non-issue, Wolverton said. Most of the sites are currently surface parking lots, but he would not say where specifically."
But I'm saying where. Right here, that's where.
Remember, when it comes to making a business successful, it all about location, location, location and my proposed location has more going for it than anything downtown can offer.
Continue to article #13 What Kind Of Fool?
