By Patrick Adrian
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CLAREMONT – After 25 years of vacancy, 56 Opera House Square “remains on schedule” to become a community hub for the performing and visual arts. This comes after an announcement that the West Claremont Center for Music and the Arts (WCCMA) received a $500,000 grant from the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority to redevelop the building into a multi-purpose center for music and arts education, performances, exhibitions and community use.
“We’re really excited,” Melissa Richmond, executive director of WCCMA, said. “Having this grant secured means we can keep moving forward as scheduled.”
As a tenant at 56 Opera House, the nonprofit organization plans to repurpose the space to include: a fully outfitted performance venue that can seat more than 100 people, classroom spaces for music and arts education, practice rooms, event and meeting rental spaces, visual arts exhibition space and commercial kitchen.
“It will be a really unique facility to this part of the Upper Valley,” Richmond said.
Rental spaces will range from individual workspaces and practice rooms to group-tailored meeting rooms. There will also be a function hall space available to rent for receptions and other community gatherings, according to Richmond.
The classroom spaces will enable the center to expand its current educational mission.
The organization provides a broad spectrum of educational and community enrichment opportunities, such as private instrument lessons, in-school programs, an instrument lending library, as well as sponsoring summer concerts, children’s programs and community events.
“This project will provide us with space to meet the needs of the community by expanding lessons, visual and performing arts workshops and community events, all in a location that is easily accessible and walkable for the majority of Claremont,” Richmond said.
In creating this space, the music and arts center partnered with the Claremont Development Authority (CDA), a group of volunteer community business leaders dedicated to supporting Claremont’s economic development. The CDA acquired 56 Opera House in June for $1 from the city via a property transfer.
“The partnership of the Claremont Development Authority and WCCMA is consistent with the CDA’s direction on downtown revitalization,” CDA Chair Tom Rock stated in a press release. “We serve our mission by partnering with active tenants to re-open long vacant buildings in the City Center to create additional jobs and add to the tax base. This project could be a catalyst encouraging other new businesses to move to the city center and developers to renovate other historic buildings.”
Nancy Merrill, Claremont director of planning and development, said in the aforementioned press release that the arts play an important role in economic development.
“The current Master Plan includes recommendations for arts entrepreneurship, collaboration, creative recreation and tourism, as well as continued efforts in building redevelopment in the downtown,” Merrill stated.
WCCMA will join a city center fast-growing in businesses and entities dedicated to the arts, including the Claremont MakerSpace, the Claremont Opera House and Amplified Arts.
Richmond said her organization has long emphasized collaboration and partnership to provide cultural enrichment. This past year, Richmond has collaborated with The Claremont MakerSpace to co-host special events, such as the workshop in February with acclaimed Master Woodworker Tom McLaughlin.
Richmond hopes to have the new center open by June 2021. Although she is still doing capital fundraising for the overall project, the grant enables the CDA to proceed with the building construction and renovation.
Construction may begin in spring 2020 and finish in the fall.
Richmond said that WCCMA plans to occupy the building and work on the interior before announcing a grand opening.
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