AUBURN — The city would close the western section of the Great Falls Performing Arts center, leasing the eastern side to Community Little Theatre, according to the latest discussions about the building’s fate.
Auburn City Manager Glenn Aho said he planned to present a brief update on the city’s negotiations with the theater group at Monday’s City Council meeting. The current idea is to put Community Little Theatre in charge of the eastern half of the building.
“And they could decide who they’d want to rent space to,” Aho said. “Basically, the city would no longer be involved.”
The building is currently home to 12 tenants, including dance academies, pottery studios and the Community Little Theatre.
City officials and members of the theater group board have been discussing the fate of the building since November, when the City Council voted to move all tenants out of the building in May 2011 and knock it down in June.
Theater group officials said last week they were close to negotiating a deal with the city that would let them continue to call the building home. They declined to discuss details, saying it involved a long-term lease of the property.
On Wednesday, Aho said the city and the theater group are still negotiating about costs but said the basic framework is in place. The eastern portion of the building, home to the theater and its costume storage space, the gym, a handful of artists and exercise spaces and vacant offices, would remain open.
The western side, home to two dance academies and a dance supply, the Franco American Genealogical Society, the Share Center and artist studies, would close. The two buildings are connected by a hallway and locked doors on two floors.
“There would be some sort of mechanical separation, and the west side would be left cold for the winter,” Aho said.
The city would not move to tear the building down, leaving its future uncertain. Aho said it could be sold to a developer later on, if one steps forward, or it could be torn down to create a new park.
The theater group would have complete control over the eastern building. That building was constructed in 1930 as an addition to the then-Edward Little High School.
“The idea would be that we would lease to CLT, but we’d be a silent landlord,” Aho said. “They’d have the ability to sublet, if they wanted. They could still provide the ‘community arts’ platform they’ve talked about, but the city would not be burdened with any of those costs.”
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