Group plans arts center at old red brick schoolhouse
By Kevin Kelley
Westlake
Published Nov. 8, 2006

Heather Drago is spearheading efforts to house a local arts center at the old red brick schoolhouse on Dover Center Road. (Photo by Kevin Kelley)

Saying that Westlake residents are underserved in the arts compared to residents of communities with similar demographics, a group of residents are planning to raise $2.9 million to renovate the old red brick schoolhouse on Dover Center Road to make it the headquarters of a thriving area arts scene.

Heather Drago, a painter who has been spearheading the Red Brick Center for the Arts (formerly known as the Committee for a Westlake Arts Center), presented the results of 16 months of research on the feasibility of such a project to City Council Oct. 30.

Drago’s group, which includes among its members Westlake Director of Planning and Economic Development Robert Parry, Ohio Dance Theater Director Denis Gula, and historical preservation consultant Steven McQuillin, made the following conclusions:

• There is a clear, measurable need to improve the amount of arts education, programs and facilities in Westlake.
• Existing local performance facilities are underutilized.
• Existing arts organizations are not fully connecting with the community.
• Westlake is falling behind comparable communities when it comes to providing arts education and programming to its citizens.
• Westlake is not taking full advantage of opportunities to further economic development by not fostering the development of the arts sector.

The group plans to establish an arts center in Westlake at the old red brick schoolhouse. The center will offer classes and space for dance, music and the visual arts, including painting, ceramics, sculpture and photography.

The new logo of the Red Brick Center For the Arts.

The $2.9 million which must be raised includes all the furnishings and equipment needed for the arts center. The group’s research concluded the red brick building is in good shape for a building its age. Renovation will include the addition of an elevator.

At $180 per square foot, the cost of renovating the schoolhouse is less than the average cost of constructing a new building, which is on average $200 per square foot, Drago said.

The now vacant building, built in 1907, is owned by the Westlake Board of Education. Plans are for the board to lease the building to the arts organization for a dollar a year.

A renovated red brick arts center will not have any performing venues, however. Drago said none is needed, as the center will make use of existing venues in the immediate area, such as the Westlake Schools Performing Arts Center, the Magnificat Center for Performing Arts, Clague Playhouse, Huntington Theater and Baycrafters.

A sketch by Van Dyke Architects, LLC. of an outdoor amphitheater proposed for Crocker Park. (Courtesy of Red Brick Arts Center)

The group is also backing the creation of an outdoor amphitheater at Crocker Park. Crocker Park had set aside between two to three acres for green space or other civic purposes in an agreement with the city. The final configuration of this area has yet to be determined, but Mayor Dennis Clough has said he favors building an outdoor amphitheater which could be used as an outdoor skating rink in the winter.

How an amphitheater would be funded is unclear. The amphitheater is not included in the group’s funding forecast.

In addition to utilizing existing facilities, Drago said an art center will create an arts consortium which will help local nonprofit arts organizations to network, cooperatively program and pool their marketing resources.

“We don’t want to replicate what other people are doing,” Drago told West Life.

A private “arts summit” is scheduled Dec. 9 for the arts groups located just West of Cleveland to Oberlin as an initial step toward this consortium, Drago said.

In the next several months, the organization plans to hold several small fund-raising events to raise start-up money. The big capital campaign for the $2.9 million will begin in May 2007, with renovation work slated to begin in September 2008. The group’s report set fall of 2009 or winter 2010 for the center’s opening.

One possible obstacle — the Beck Center for the Arts, which recently decided to stay in Lakewood after considering a move to Crocker Park, will be launching its own capital campaign at about the same time as Drago’s group.

The Red Brick Center for the Arts also plans to raise an additional $2 million for an endowment, which would provide 20 percent of the center’s $500,000 annual budget.

Drago said she expects a major part of the money will come from business and corporate donations. She also said there is a large base of alumni who attended classes when the building was used as a schoolhouse. Many of them have gone on to successful lives and want to see the building preserved, she said.

While the group is currently not seeking any public money from Westlake, it does plan on applying for grants from the county and state for the project.

In their research, group members visited several communities, ranging from Brecksville to Columbus to Wooster, which have active arts centers. The group’s report concluded that communities with an active arts scene do better attracting business and visitors. A vibrant arts environment offers a higher quality of life and helps drive the economy, the report also concluded.

Drago, who has been leading efforts to establish an arts center in Westlake on a volunteer basis since June 2005, said she would like to see more residents back the effort.

“We’d like more people to get involved,” she said.

For more information about the Red Brick Center for the Arts, or to download a copy of its report, visit its Web site at www.redbrickarts.org.