PHS is embarked on an amazing partnership with Next Stage Arts Project (NSAP) to restore and renovate the Next Stage Performing Arts Center at 15 Kimball Hill. This collaboration has just yielded a number of major grant successes that have given the Capital Campaign an impressive boost. To turn the former historic church into a fully accessible 21st century performing arts center with an elevator, great theater, sprinkler system, and restored exterior, our campaign goal is $860,000. We are thrilled to announce that together PHS and NSAP have raised $650,000 to date including a brand new $320,000 grant just awarded to NSAP by ArtPlace America. This highly competitive grant in which NSAP was one of only 55 recipients from a field of nearly 1300, gives national recognition of our efforts at community & art place-making in Putney. In addition to the $320,000 for the building project, ArtPlace awarded NSAP $50,000 to develop new programming and school partnerships.
The $650,000 raised so far for the Capital Campaign also includes other recent key grants awarded to the PHS in December 2013 and January 2014. These are $70,000 from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB), and $20,000 from the Vermont Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) and the Division for Historic Preservation (DHP).The DHP grant is a one to one matching grant which relied on a $20,000 in-hand match raised through local pledges and Putney Historical Society’s building reserves. All of these grants build on the Vermont Village Center Tax credit of over $110,000 awarded in 2012 for building code work. The balance of the amount raised has come from other grants and several lead pledges from local donors.
The ArtPlace America grant enables the entire $860,000 project to move forward which includes renovation and expansion of the rear addition & kitchen in order to enhance the operations of the theater and provide greater opportunities for meal-based community events and food activities. Next Stages’ grant request to ArtPlace was predicated on our ability to raise the remainder of the project goal – a gap now of $210,000 – from additional sources, with the hope that at least $100,000 of this will come from the community in future donations. The quiet phase of the campaign is coming to a close and PHS and NSAP are now moving to the public stage of the campaign, and reaching out to the community to help raise the remaining funds. Additional grants are also being sought to meet our goal this year.
“The work we are doing with PHS reflects a national trend to adapt and re-use important historic spaces to help revitalize communities across the country. In three short years, Next Stage has facilitated many school collaborations and events drawing audiences to Putney and helping support the village economy” – Billy Straus, Co-founder & Board Chair of Next Stage Arts Project.
The actual work will start this season with roof and belfry repair funded by the Historic Preservation Grant. Meanwhile the design phase for the renovation work will start this fall and by the summer of 2015 we hope to be able to start construction on the rest of the building. The project work should be completed by fall of 2016 and will be carefully designed for a minimum of programming disruption.
We want to again thank all of the generous donors to this project to date and encourage contributions from the community to help us close the remaining gap. If you have enjoyed having the varied facilities of 15 Kimball Hill in your town these past years, please support our efforts with a donation or pledge, which can be made over more than one year! Donate here or by mail to: PHS/Capital Campaign, P.O. Box 260, Putney, VT 05346.