CTroyMathis
12 November 2003, 05:03 PM
http://www.courier-gazette.com/articles/2003/11/12/news/news02.txt
Groups make wish list for courthouse rehabilitation
By JENNIFER MILLER McKinney Courier-Gazette
The Old Collin County Courthouse is the subject of debate over future potential users.
In a city not far from McKinney, people thought a cultural arts group was crazy for wanting to rehab an old dilapidated building to suit the needs of performing artists.
Not only did this group have nay-sayers working against them, but they were trying to raise money in the midst of a miserable economy. But they raised the money, with a portion of it coming from the city, and the rest through private donations and partnerships. Despite parking challenges, the old building currently sees about 1,500 people come through its doors for performances and rehearsals each week.
That is the story of the Sammons Center for the Arts in Dallas, the former Turtle Creek pump station, which opened 15 years ago and now accommodates 13 resident organizations and provides space for about 40 community groups, according to the center's Executive Director Joanna St. Angelo.
"People thought it was nuts," she said, "I'm now glad to say that it's been an amazing success."
St. Angelo was on hand Tuesday to be a part of a series of four focus group meetings this week to allow citizens to put on paper their dreams for the Old Collin County Courthouse. Through her experience with the Sammons Center, she was there to offer perspective and relate her experience to that of the courthouse project.
"There are many parallels," she said. "We, too, had a historic building that we had to work with, and the function had to adhere to its historic integrity."
A state landmark
The focus group meetings held Tuesday and those scheduled for Wednesday are meant to help the project architects collect ideas from potential users of the courthouse. Craig Melde of Architexas, head architect on the project, will present a report to the McKinney Community Development Corporation and the City Council in January. Melde, who is an expert in historic preservation, said the courthouse in McKinney is the oldest courthouse in Texas, having been built in 1878. Although the original Victorian look was replaced with Classical Revival style in 1927, it is still an important historic structure, he said.
"It is listed as a state historical landmark, and all plans have to be reviewed by the Texas Historical Commission," Melde said. He and St. Angelo agreed the courtroom space, with about 200 seats on the main floor and 84 balcony seats, would be usable for a variety of functions, especially with the adequate sightlines lending to the viewing of a stage area.
Tuesday's meetings invited potential corporate users - including the likes of Raytheon and the McKinney Chamber of Commerce - as well as visual arts groups, to tell architects everything they would need in the Old Collin County Courthouse if money and architectural constraints were no object.
Corporate wish list
Among potential corporate users of the courthouse, the wish list included: an in-house food service provider, audio-visual equipment, a flexible seating area in the courtroom, the ability to darken rooms to overhead projections, films or Power Point presentations, sound-proofing of the smaller rooms for "break-out" sessions, storage, outlets, wireless Internet access, and plenty of parking.
David Pitstick, Executive Director of the McKinney Economic Development Corporation, spoke about the Hilton Garden hotel in Allen, which he worked to make possible while employed in that city. He concurred that convenient access to the courthouse would be a key factor in its use by corporations, as well as stores staying open later, and the building's management and marketing.
"Convenience is absolutely critical," he said. "You're going to have to have all the convenient assets (hotels) have, as well as the unique element we have here."
Visual arts wish list
Tuesday afternoon's meeting centered on the visual arts, and included a joint presentation by Downtown Property Owners President Don Day, Downtown McKinney Association President Linda McNeff and Collin County History Museum Executive Director Don Hoke.
Architect Craig Melde said the first floor rooms, with their high ceilings and ample natural lighting, does lend itself to visual art.
Day, McNeff and Hoke's presentation included a three-and-a-half page detailing of all the physical needs necessary to facilitate an art museum to draw local art, accommodate artists-in-residence, as well as attract traveling exhibits such as "The Faces of Texas" photography exhibit and Picasso pottery and sculpture. The requests were added to the overall wish list compiled by Melde.
Also offering input was Heard-Craig Historical Center Director Barbara Johnson, who asked that the Heard-Craig auditorium be included in efforts to provide a venue for art, and suggested that the groups work together to cross promote each others' facilities.
"Part of our mission is to promote the arts," Johnson said.
Other citizens attending the meeting agreed that the courthouse would fill a need to accommodate local art, as well as fill the need to stimulate the economy of the local commercial historic area of McKinney.
"Anything that is done downtown is going to benefit the area east of (U.S.) 75," said resident Bonnie Wenk.
Day again emphasized the need for more parking.
"If we're going to do the things we want to do, we need parking in downtown McKinney," Day said.
Groups make wish list for courthouse rehabilitation
By JENNIFER MILLER McKinney Courier-Gazette
The Old Collin County Courthouse is the subject of debate over future potential users.
In a city not far from McKinney, people thought a cultural arts group was crazy for wanting to rehab an old dilapidated building to suit the needs of performing artists.
Not only did this group have nay-sayers working against them, but they were trying to raise money in the midst of a miserable economy. But they raised the money, with a portion of it coming from the city, and the rest through private donations and partnerships. Despite parking challenges, the old building currently sees about 1,500 people come through its doors for performances and rehearsals each week.
That is the story of the Sammons Center for the Arts in Dallas, the former Turtle Creek pump station, which opened 15 years ago and now accommodates 13 resident organizations and provides space for about 40 community groups, according to the center's Executive Director Joanna St. Angelo.
"People thought it was nuts," she said, "I'm now glad to say that it's been an amazing success."
St. Angelo was on hand Tuesday to be a part of a series of four focus group meetings this week to allow citizens to put on paper their dreams for the Old Collin County Courthouse. Through her experience with the Sammons Center, she was there to offer perspective and relate her experience to that of the courthouse project.
"There are many parallels," she said. "We, too, had a historic building that we had to work with, and the function had to adhere to its historic integrity."
A state landmark
The focus group meetings held Tuesday and those scheduled for Wednesday are meant to help the project architects collect ideas from potential users of the courthouse. Craig Melde of Architexas, head architect on the project, will present a report to the McKinney Community Development Corporation and the City Council in January. Melde, who is an expert in historic preservation, said the courthouse in McKinney is the oldest courthouse in Texas, having been built in 1878. Although the original Victorian look was replaced with Classical Revival style in 1927, it is still an important historic structure, he said.
"It is listed as a state historical landmark, and all plans have to be reviewed by the Texas Historical Commission," Melde said. He and St. Angelo agreed the courtroom space, with about 200 seats on the main floor and 84 balcony seats, would be usable for a variety of functions, especially with the adequate sightlines lending to the viewing of a stage area.
Tuesday's meetings invited potential corporate users - including the likes of Raytheon and the McKinney Chamber of Commerce - as well as visual arts groups, to tell architects everything they would need in the Old Collin County Courthouse if money and architectural constraints were no object.
Corporate wish list
Among potential corporate users of the courthouse, the wish list included: an in-house food service provider, audio-visual equipment, a flexible seating area in the courtroom, the ability to darken rooms to overhead projections, films or Power Point presentations, sound-proofing of the smaller rooms for "break-out" sessions, storage, outlets, wireless Internet access, and plenty of parking.
David Pitstick, Executive Director of the McKinney Economic Development Corporation, spoke about the Hilton Garden hotel in Allen, which he worked to make possible while employed in that city. He concurred that convenient access to the courthouse would be a key factor in its use by corporations, as well as stores staying open later, and the building's management and marketing.
"Convenience is absolutely critical," he said. "You're going to have to have all the convenient assets (hotels) have, as well as the unique element we have here."
Visual arts wish list
Tuesday afternoon's meeting centered on the visual arts, and included a joint presentation by Downtown Property Owners President Don Day, Downtown McKinney Association President Linda McNeff and Collin County History Museum Executive Director Don Hoke.
Architect Craig Melde said the first floor rooms, with their high ceilings and ample natural lighting, does lend itself to visual art.
Day, McNeff and Hoke's presentation included a three-and-a-half page detailing of all the physical needs necessary to facilitate an art museum to draw local art, accommodate artists-in-residence, as well as attract traveling exhibits such as "The Faces of Texas" photography exhibit and Picasso pottery and sculpture. The requests were added to the overall wish list compiled by Melde.
Also offering input was Heard-Craig Historical Center Director Barbara Johnson, who asked that the Heard-Craig auditorium be included in efforts to provide a venue for art, and suggested that the groups work together to cross promote each others' facilities.
"Part of our mission is to promote the arts," Johnson said.
Other citizens attending the meeting agreed that the courthouse would fill a need to accommodate local art, as well as fill the need to stimulate the economy of the local commercial historic area of McKinney.
"Anything that is done downtown is going to benefit the area east of (U.S.) 75," said resident Bonnie Wenk.
Day again emphasized the need for more parking.
"If we're going to do the things we want to do, we need parking in downtown McKinney," Day said.