Bainbridge Performing Arts gave a presentation on its $16.5 million remodel to the City Council recently.
Executive director Dominique Cantwell said some work has already started to take advantage of the shutdown created by COVID-19 restrictions from Gov. Jay Inslee.
BPA already has $12 million in donations and hopes to raise the rest in the next year to break ground on construction in spring of 2022. The grand opening is set for the spring of 2023.
Cantwell said the remodel is not just for the BPA. It is for the entire Town Square.
“The idea of creating a cultural campus is important to us,” she said.
Interim city manager Ellen Schroer said while the city leases the land to BPA, it owns the buildings.
“It’s a key part of the community,” she said of BPA. “We want the public to see in advance and get excited about what’s coming.”
Mayor Rasham Nassar asked how the changes will affect the Farmer’s Market.
“We hope to be better partners,” Cantwell said. “Creating a plaza will be better for the market.”
Mark Tumiski and Wendy Pautz of LMN Architects showed council members a slide show on the remodel.
Pautz reiterated that the remodel is not just to enhance the existing building, but also the broader area, including the BI Historical Museum.
“It’s in concert with Time Square to create a larger community,” she said, adding landscaping will bring it all together.
As for the building, she said the auditorium’s seating will be completely reconfigured to “enhance the audience experience.” She said the current lobby is “vastly undersized,” so it will be expanded. A studio nearby will truly be multipurposed, used for rehearsals, educational classrooms, small performances and can even be opened up to expand the lobby even more.
Tumiski said the new front door will be aligned with Town Square. The lobby will include a bar. Off the studio will be an outdoor patio. Both the lobby and studio will have huge windows for lighting and views. “It’s really connected to the landscape both day and night,” he said. A balcony in the lobby will lead to a second level in the auditorium. Curved seating will give patrons a better line of sight to the stage.
Other improvements include: installing comfortable multi-aisle seating, upgrading the box office and administrative offices, improving HVAC systems, installing an elevator, expanding restrooms, building a new kitchen and servery, updating dressing rooms and performers’ restrooms, and replacing the roof and worn siding.
On the BPA website, it says: “After 64 years of serving as a cornerstone of the arts on the Island, Bainbridge Performing Arts has launched a capital campaign to address some much-needed improvements and bring some exciting new features to the 1992 building, soon to be renamed The Buxton Center for Bainbridge Performing Arts in honor of our dear friend and colleague, Frank Buxton.
A bequest from Buxton’s estate and donations from many of his friends and family have helped raise much of the money so far. BPS has also been working to secure several major gifts from other donors.
“We have not yet begun the larger-scale fundraising within the community as we’ve chosen to pace ourselves during the COVID-19 pandemic and want to ensure that we are sensitive to the multitude of community needs at this time,” the website says. “…Every single dollar we receive from the community from now on will go directly toward the bricks and mortar of this dream come true.”
