By Anne Levin
Late last month, McCarter Theatre Center reported to Princeton Council that it was applying for support from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s Cultural Arts Facilities Expansion (CAFE) program. Should the request be approved, McCarter hopes to purchase a portion of the former Westminster Choir College campus — now owned by the municipality — to expand its programs.
Another local cultural organization hoping for support from the CAFE program is the Arts Council of Princeton (ACP). Also in need of more space, the ACP applied to the CAFE program in an earlier round, hoping to use the funds to expand its existing facility at Witherspoon and Green streets.
Approved this past February to bolster New Jersey’s arts sector, the CAFE program provides tax credits covering 100 percent of eligible project costs up to $75 million, to help arts facilities build or renovate. ACP Executive Director Adam Welch and colleagues are awaiting word on the organization’s request, which is supposed to come sometime this fall.
“This is something we had been thinking about before we even knew about this program,” said Welch. “But when the CAFE program opened, it was serendipitous. We thought, ‘This is earmarked for us.’”
The ACP needs space for more studios, new classrooms, and its annual summer camp for children. Recent community events and neighborhood meetings hosted by the organization have been packed. The Solley Theater needs to be enlarged.
“One of the biggest things we’ve noticed is that our kids’ camp is totally booked and overflowing,” said Welch. “This would give us five additional studios for more classes and camp space. Over the last five years, we have doubled the number of ceramics classes, and we can still add more. The expansion would allow for that.”
The ACP has been operating out of the building in the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood since 1982 — renting it from the town at first, and buying it in 1996. The most recent expansion and renovation was designed by late architect Michael Graves and completed in 2008. For its next project, the organization has been talking to Studio Hillier, led by architect Bob Hillier (Town Topics publisher).
A focus of the projected expansion is the addition of square footage on the Witherspoon Street side of the building, where a side terrace already exists.
“When you’re walking by, you have no idea what happens inside,” said Welch. “That’s one of the reasons we have lights on at night and a sign that says ‘Art Happens Here.’ From the outside, it looks like a municipal building. But this would allow people walking on the sidewalk to see directly into the studios.”
The ACP hired consultants to study the best way to apply for the CAFE program. Despite imminent growth in the local population, expanding on the existing location seems the best way to go.
“This is a modest and reasonable and rational approach to growth in the community,” said Welch. “It’s something we see as really smart and sustainable growth. We don’t want to bite off more than we can chew.”
Welch will present the idea on Saturday, September 6 at a meeting of the Witherspoon-Jackson Neighborhood Association, from 9:30-11 a.m. at the ACP.
“We want to show the neighborhood first,” said Welch. “We will let them know our intention before we go to the town and start to make proposals. Because largely, it’s the neighborhood that is the beneficiary of a lot of the programs we do, like book launches and neighborhood meetings. We want to become more of a neighborhood hub.”