TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Friends To Run Cultural Center

ADVERTISEMENT

By ELIZABETH LEE BROWN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 9, 2008

CARROLLWOOD - The newly constructed Carrollwood Cultural Center, slated to open in early March, will be run by its biggest supporters.

Hillsborough County leaders approved a five-year deal Thursday to hand over the building's management to the Friends of the Carrollwood Cultural Center.

The pact, the first of its kind for a county building, transfers the day-to-day operations of the cultural center from the county's parks, recreation and conservation department to the Friends group and its 15-member volunteer board.

Under the agreement, the county will pay the Friends a $380,000 annual management fee for the first two years. The county's contribution will decrease in years three through five based on a percentage of the center's revenue.

Revenue from tuition, fees and sponsorship of the rooms will supplement the cultural center's budget.

The Friends group will operate and promote the cultural center and hire the artists and staff. The county will pay for utilities, maintenance and repairs to the buildings, grounds and fixtures.

Tom Jones, president of the Friends organization, said construction of the building is 99 percent complete, and the agreement allows the group to begin hiring staff and lining up classes for an early March grand opening.

"We need to bring that building to life," he told the commissioners. "We have a great complex. There are rooms for all the arts. Right now, we face this challenge of conducting these classes."

Jones said it will be a regional facility showcasing community arts, music and theater. They have about 75 instructors signed up to teach courses in digital photography, pottery, dance, languages, music and theater.

The Florida Orchestra has agreed to play at the grand opening, Jones said.

Classes and the complex's 25,000 square feet of space will be open to all county residents, not only those living in Carrollwood.

In January 2007, Orlando-based CEM Enterprises began renovating the former St. Mark's Episcopal Church at Casey and Lowell roads in Carrollwood Village.

Jones said they expect to obtain a certificate of occupancy from the county this month.

The two-story cultural center features a 616-square-foot stage and an auditorium that seats up to 205 people. It also has a room for arts and crafts classes, a ceramics room with 12 pottery wheels, a dance studio, a music room and a computer lab for digital photography.

Next to the main building is a 6,000-square-foot annex that was the former Church of Christ of Carrollwood. That building, also bought by the county, has hosted more than 20 concerts since opening two years ago.

Reporter Elizabeth Lee Brown can be reached at (813) 865-1502 or ebrown@tampatrib.com.

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT