Bartlett looking closely at theater idea

Bartlett's own residents don't even go downtown, but they do attend professional performing arts events.

So what about building a cultural arts center in downtown Bartlett?

The village is taking a close look at the idea, and according to the second phase of a feasibility study presented to the board Tuesday night, it could work.

A theater producer would consider Bartlett a "gold mine waiting to be mined," said Arthur Greenberg of AMS Planning and Research Corp., a St. Louis-based cultural development consulting firm the village hired for $23,750.

That's because there's a strong potential for arts attendance and no supply. At least, not in town.

In a telephone survey of 350 households in Bartlett and the surrounding five-mile area, AMS found 70 percent of nearby residents have not visited downtown Bartlett in the past year, while only about half of Bartlett residents have frequented it 10 or more times. Right now, residents of Bartlett and the surrounding area do an overwhelming majority of their shopping, dining and cultural activities in Schaumburg, St. Charles, Geneva and Elgin.

When asked what would bring people to downtown Bartlett, the third-most popular answer -- behind more restaurants and festivals/special events -- was a cultural center with performances and exhibitions.

AMS laid out two options for consideration in its study.

One was a 250-seat theater estimated to cost at least $9 million. And at 26,000 square feet, the building itself would be larger than the piece of village-owned land just south of Town Center officials are eyeing for the project.

So Greenberg moved on to a 99-seat theater modeled after the Boston Court Theatre in Pasadena, Calif. It could feature an additional recital hall, gallery and exhibit space, a classroom and modest area to build sets and store costumes. The total project cost was estimated to be $5.3 million.

"It seems to just make sense," Greenberg said. "A natural fit."

The conversation will continue next month, when village staff will present analyses of both plans, including the all-important financials.

When he ran for re-election in April, Trustee John Kavouris said he would not support an arts center if it meant increasing taxes. And a facility would need funding of some kind. In the AMS study, both the 99- and 250-seat theaters would produce annual operating shortfalls.

But their economic impact on Bartlett could easily total more than $1 million.

"We are not doing what we need to do to encourage commerce downtown," said Village President Catherine Melchert, noting that patrons of the cultural arts center may stay in town to do a little shopping or dining on the side. "Art can be an economic development tool."