There has been some tepid discussion on this in the Completed Projects/Crocker Park thread, but I think this topic deserves a thread of its own and some real debate. Wimwar, Mister Good Day, Ewoops, KJP, Straphanger, all my other Cleveland brothers and sisters -- time to speak up. (MayDay and X, weigh in again!)

 

More than anything, this project has once again made me doubt Bob Stark's motives. First he builds Cracker Park out in the boonies -- boo! But wait: then he proposes something similar for downtown, but on an even larger scale. He talks the urban talk. I begin to believe the guy has seen the light. But no, now it seems he's trying to rob an inner ring suburb of its crowning artistic glory to feed the culture-starved beast he created in the cornfields.

 

My question is, how does he reconcile this in his head? Is he envisioning a Cleveland that has a vibrant downtown and affluent exurbs, with dying city neighborhoods and inner-ring burbs in between? That this appears to be the direction we're headed in anyway is beside my point here -- if Stark is the urbanist he says he is, how can he justify his actions? Am I making too much of this? I don't think so.

 

And now, an article from today's PD to stoke the debate.

 

Big picture in the Beck's quandary

It's not as simple as staying or moving

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

 

Who owns - and who pays for - the quality-of-life assets that make a place nice to live in?

 

That's the central question in what has become the story of the moment in the Cleveland area's cultural well-being: the Beck Center for the Arts, and whether it redevelops in Lakewood or moves to Crocker Park.

 

The Beck's situation provides a microcosm of the larger issues facing Greater Cleveland: regionalism, economic development, the decline of inner-ring suburbs, growth in the outer suburbs and exurbs, community-building.

 

"Fascinating," said Thomas Schorgl, chief executive officer of the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture. "There's a book in this."

 

The Beck, celebrating 75 years of existence in Lakewood, has severe facilities problems with all three of its structures.

 

Parts of the main building date to the 1920s and the old Lucier movie theater. Roofs leak. Basements flood. Bills soar. The larger theater, which seats 484, is too large; the smaller one, which seats 82, too small.

 

Much of the Beck's $2.5 million operating budget has to be diverted from its core mission - providing arts education to children and adults and producing some of the area's best theater - to feed the beast: the buildings.

 

More at cleveland.com

The article is not quite correct. When I interviewed Stark Tuesday for Sun's article, he said he approached Beck 6-7 years ago when Crocker Park was still a proposal. Beck turned him down. However, this latest discussion about a possible move came as a result of Beck's overture.

 

One thing about businesspeople that I'm not wild about is that they narrowly view their interests, often to a fault (like a developer lobbying to dam a stream to create a lake for their posh new development, even though it risks flooding basements of existing, nearby homes; or in another way like the railroads in the 1950s and 60s which believed their customers wanted trains, not transportation). The world outside of a businessperson's interests (properties, products, services, etc.) often does not exist, which also causes the person to have a rather huge ego.

 

When Stark says he sees the value downtown, I don't doubt him. Look at the marketplace -- aging baby boomers, empty nesters, only 25 percent of households having school-age children, undervalued properties downtown, the list goes on. When businesspeople say they're going to do something (like promote urbanism), they don't do it for the altruism in it. But if they can make money while being altruistic, then that's a home run.

 

At the risk of putting words into Stark's mouth, I suspect Stark sees this move by Beck as a way of keeping Beck viable, not just enhancing the value of his investment in Crocker Park. Granted, I'd rather see him make a nice donation to the Beck Center, or to promote a Lakewood Arts District development. But, if you're a developer (a cut-throat, ego-driven business if there ever was one) and a potential tenant came to you to inquire about available space, he'd be crazy not to be interested. I do wish he would consider alternatives, however.

Certainly his downtown development, Pesht, would be an alternative that he could consider.  Wouldn't downtown digs raise the Beck's profile around the region?  I wonder if the City of Cleveland, now aware that the Beck is up for grabs, would be interested in putting together a package.  While I would hate to see Lakewood lose the Beck, better to lose it to Downtown than to Crocker Park. 

 

And wouldn't this be a great fit for that lot just south of CSU's Urban Affairs college?  It would finish off Playhouse Square nicely.

I always thought that the Beck Center was oriented towards children.  Is that just part of its offerings? 

i wonder if Stark has considered the Pesht development for Beck?  Seems like the kind of institution that would fit in a place like that.

"But no, now it seems he's trying to rob an inner ring suburb of its crowning artistic glory to feed the culture-starved beast he created in the cornfields."

 

I guess I don't see it that way, at least not completely.

 

As KJP stated - Stark is a developer first, and his business isn't to plunk down a few million for an arts center without seeing any kind of return. Let's face it, if he handed over some cash to Beck so they could rebuild on their current site - what would he get out of it, other than some goodwill and publicity? Ideally, that would be enough - but he's in business to make money, not give it away.

 

Also - if Beck moved to Crocker Park, they won't be doing it with Stark holding a gun to their head. You have to look at it from a few different angles - Beck's current facilities are hampering their ability to carry on their mission. Stark has offered them an alternative - not a desirable one in a lot of peoples' minds, but an alternative nonetheless. What alternatives have been presented that would persuade Beck to stay put?  As the article said - should Beck turn down any offer to relocate simply because it would be considered distasteful to some (myself included), at the risk of going under like other organizations?

 

One thing I can assure you though - if they move to Crocker Park, Scott Spence's fear of compromising Beck's programming will become reality. Mark my words. Westlake is way too uptight for their current offerings.

Every time a business or organization moves further away from the core city, it stings me a little.  But I don't blame Stark as much as I do the Beck Center.  He's just promoting his development.  However, we need to do a better job of convincing folks like Stark and entities like the Beck Center that it is in their and the community's best interest for them to stay in or near the core.

 

That being said, if the Beck Center absolutely needs a new location, what about Gordon Square, Pesht, or Playhouse Square? 

Gordon Square was my first thought as well.

Beck doesn't need a new location, they need a new building.  This became new location when they had a carrot dangled in their face that would potentially solve their financial woes but assuming some debt and helping to cover the costs of a new building.  If the City of Lakewood would pony up cash to compete with this developer, this might not be an issue.  But like many inner ring suburbs, Lakewood is cash strapped and this just isn't possible. 

 

As for moving to Gordon Square, isn't CPT and Near West enough theater for one block?  I would hope that Beck would look at that model for developing an area.  It would be cool if Beck were part of a larger neighborhood re-growth that would include shops, restaurants, etc. 

 

I think they are looking at the fact that their prices are going WAY up for their product.  When I had a chance for my daughter to take a class there (ballet...she was 6) I jumped. It was nice but pricey and my daughter's enthusiasm for it was, well, typical for a 6 year old.  I found that the same sort of class was offered by Lakewood Recreation that was WAY cheaper and offered the same opportunities and even they had a huge show at the end of the class (and all the class sessions of all ages) that packed the Lakewood auditorium!  Not bad for way less money.

 

The other issue is that the theater charges professional theater prices on par with Great Lakes Theater Festival or Cleveland Playhouse but offers only amateur level theatrics, great for community theater but inconsistent when compared to the more polished fare found around town.  Don't get me wrong, I have seen some stunning theater at the Beck but I have also seen amateurish productions for the same cost.  The people that can afford this live out West, not in towards the city.  Beck is, instead of trying to serve its surrounding community with the theater it wants, needs, and can afford it instead has a program that is in search of a neighborhood that can afford it.  Very different from the model at CPT and Near West, I would think.

 

MWNN

I've only been to Beck a couple times (including to see an awesome Cleveland Artists Foundation show about Cleveland Hungarian painters) but am pretty sure it would be totally off my radar if it moved to Westsprawl, er, -lake....But that's just my selfish interest.

 

More generally, I think it would suck for Lakewood and for Cleveland to lose a popular and established institution.  And I think MayDay is giving Stark too easy a time.  Sure it's in Stark's interest as a developer to bolster Cracker Park with some more amenities, no argument there.  Nobody's claiming he's irrational for wanting to do this, we're just saying that it sucks for Cleveland and Lakewood.  Given the zero-sum game Cleveland area development has become, I think it's lame that Stark and and Beck want to enhance Westlake at the expense of Lakewood/Cleveland.

 

More fundamentally, I have trouble seeing arts and style in isolation.  My eyes roll mightily at the thought of high end clothing stores in Beachwood or Woodmere.  Great, you can look like a million bucks walking across a steaming asphalt parking lot in front of a shudder-inducing cheese pit like Eaton Collection or windowless bunker like Beechwood place.  Anyone who thinks they are "fabulous" hanging out or dining at the fancy restaurants or lounges at these places is a joke.  I guess I feel the same way about seeing theater in Westlake...it makes Beck's productions seem like just another Lifestyle Centre commodity.

While I definitely think it's a travesty for Beck to end up lost in the outer rings and would never consider going to an arts and culture event at a lifestyle center, I think the Beck Center finds itself in a very precarious situation. Given the current financial conditions facing our county's arts and culture nonprofits (together with the abundance of organizations currently engaged in or launching capital campaigns), it would certainly be enticing to move into a brand new facility that could better serve your patrons. Moreover, it is my understanding that the vast majority of Beck patrons reside in Bay, Avon and Westlake, not in Cleveland or Lakewood. And unfortunately, Beck's mission ("To be a comprehensive community arts center focusing on theater, arts education, and gallery exhibitions") doesn't tie it to a particular community.

 

The obvious losers are the people of Lakewood and Cleveland, who will have considerably less access to the educational and outreach offerings of this institution. But the outer ring suburbanites, in my opinion, lose out as well. Arts and culture bring together a more diverse group of people than any other human social activity. If we start dividing up audiences by income bracket, level of educational attainment or even address, I think something about the experience gets lost.

 

So, just like any other business or nonprofit vacuumed out of Cleveland by urban sprawl, if you care about urban arts and culture organizations staying urban, then it's important to support that organization in its current location and to get other people to do so. When we don't, it's just too easy for a cash-strapped organization, even a charitable one, to follow the money toward (or even beyond) the county lines.

 

Given the current financial conditions facing our county's arts and culture nonprofits (together with the abundance of organizations currently engaged in or launching capital campaigns), it would certainly be enticing to move into a brand new facility that could better serve your patrons. Moreover, it is my understanding that the vast majority of Beck patrons reside in Bay, Avon and Westlake, not in Cleveland or Lakewood.

 

 

This isn't completely true, at least statistically.  Sure, there are more people from outside the city that visit the Beck than inside, but that is hardly a reason to move (as I would argue that probably more people visit Crocker Park from outside the city than within...otherwise it would fold tomorrow).  In fact, it shows that people from the Sprawl will travel inland to get quality arts and entertainment.  If we look just at numbers from the two cities in question (since Beck isn't moving to Avon or Bay and is just as close to many residents in outside communities like Fairview Park, Rocky River and even hunks of Bay than it will be on the furthest end of Westlake (nearly Lorain County).  I read a stat that about 25% of patrons for shows are from Lakewood vs. about 12% from Westlake.  For classes and such, it was higher in favor of Lakewood, like 28% I think compared to 10% from Westlake.  So they are currently looking at nearly 1/3 of their audience for classes and 1/4 for shows coming from the town where they live.  This might change the other way around when they move but is it worth it?  And couple with that the fact that BIG arts spenders for non-profits like the Gund Foundation and Cleveland Arts Foundation (or whatever it is called...the name escapes me) will dry up as they move away from THEIR intended recipients, namely arts organizations in urban settings.  They have already been quoted as saying that well is out of reach of Beck if Westward they go.

 

I think the only benefit for Beck is the short term when they get a new theater and some quick money.  The long term impact will be a watering down of the Beck name and style (more "pop" shows vs. meatier productions) and potential irrelevancy when compared to the continually growing and changing downtown venues (keep an eye out for cool Great Lakes Theater Festival stuff in the next couple of years, for example). 

 

If producing theatrical productions and teaching kids music was all about money, then I would support the argument that the Beck move but if that were the case, I shudder to think what the arts would be (reality television and MTV hints at this). 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the intelligent comments, everyone. I'm glad to see this topic has brought in a couple of new posters -- welcome, 8Shades and NoName!

Thanks, Blinker!  It is sad to see that after weeks of conjecture that, beyond one statement, the Beck is still silent on this.  I think it is one of those things were residents that are concerned just want to know, at this point.  If Beck stays, cool...let's help it out.  If it leaves, fine...let's replace it.

Beck's suitor choice may come down to money

Thomas Ott

(Cleveland) Plain Dealer

Friday, September 08, 2006

 

The Beck Center for the Arts is the central character in a love triangle.

 

The arts center has two suitors. One is familiar, the other fresh. The former has bohemian flavor; the latter dangles riches ... 

 

 

More at http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1157704242124680.xml&coll=2

 

 

I will make my stance clear right up front: Me, my family, and many of my dearest friends are all long-time supporters of the Beck Center For Arts - if Beck leaves Lakewood for Westlake, I will no longer be a supporter and I will make ends meet without ever driving to Crocker Park.

^you ought to send that to the Beck Center.

^^ I am inclined to agree. While I love the Beck Center, sprawl is sprawl, and chasing the migratory patters of donors, I believe, is not a very good long-term sustainability strategy.

 

Moreover, with both Detroit Shoreway and Westown considering the viability of theatre districts, I think the West Side will have some great performing arts synergies going, synergies that Beck should consider when talking about revenue and expense concerns (e.g. opportunities for combined marketing efforts, resource sharing, co-sponsoring events, etc.).

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

 

 

METRO: Beck Center stays in Lakewood

By Tony Brown

 

The Beck Center for the Arts, the Cleveland area’s biggest cultural institution west of the Cuyahoga River, will stay in its longtime home of Lakewood.

 

That was the official word Tuesday from Beck board Chairman Frederick Unger.

 

But a decision about whether the Beck will redevelop its current site, on Detroit Avenue in Lakewood’s west end, or elsewhere in Lakewood is an issue that Beck and Lakewood city officials would not discuss until a news conference at 10 a.m. today.

 

Beck, in Lakewood for all of its 75 years, was considering a move to the Crocker Park retail, residential and office complex in outlying Westlake.

 

 

http://www.cleveland.com/plaindealer/weblog/index.ssf?/mtlogs/cleve_eedition/archives/2006_10.html#195802

We had heard the same at Sun today, but the jerks at Beck weren't going to say anything official to us until the press conference Wednesday. Umm....Sun's deadline is Tuesday, and we don't come out until Thursday. We should have to wait until Oct. 26 to report the news that Beck is staying put? Use your brains people! Everyone at our office was so pissed at you folks at Beck that we held the article about your 75th anniversary gala. Beck folks can't have it both ways -- We're supposed to oblige you with a supportive story while you withhold a major story from us? We aren't going to magically cause a massive production, printing and delivery system to speed up 24 hours to scoop your press conference!

 

We report the news. Not the olds. We're supposed to wait eight days for the next opportunity to report "Beck is staying"? That's absolutely crazy!! You can't harmlessly bend the rules? This sounds like procedure overwhelming logic. Where's the mutually supportive partnership??

^^Oh, what a huge relief! Yay Beck Center for doing the right thing.

We had heard the same at Sun today, but the jerks at Beck weren't going to say anything official to us until the press conference Wednesday. Umm....Sun's deadline is Tuesday, and we don't come out until Thursday. We should have to wait until Oct. 26 to report the news that Beck is staying put? Use your brains people! Everyone at our office was so pissed at you folks at Beck that we held the article about your 75th anniversary gala. Beck folks can't have it both ways -- We're supposed to oblige you with a supportive story while you withhold a major story from us? We aren't going to magically cause a massive production, printing and delivery system to speed up 24 hours to scoop your press conference!

 

We report the news. Not the olds. We're supposed to wait eight days for the next opportunity to report "Beck is staying"? That's absolutely crazy!! You can't harmlessly bend the rules? This sounds like procedure overwhelming logic. Where's the mutually supportive partnership??

 

Good news! no pun intended! 

 

KJP you OK??  I've never seen you like this, they really got your "pressure" up!

anyone hear if they are going to build anew or stay at the same spot?

KJP you OK?? I've never seen you like this, they really got your "pressure" up!

 

And I was one of the calmer ones at the office yesterday! We were worried that our assistant editor, who covered Lakewood for 11 years, was going to pop some blood vessels!

 

anyone hear if they are going to build anew or stay at the same spot?

 

Not sure yet, but it's likely they will stay where they are. However, one of Beck's board members suggested the Giant Eagle site at Bunts and Detroit (since that store will likely close with a consolidation to Tops on the north side of Detroit at Bunts). But this is probably five years off.

Beck Center, schools to form arts academy

Tony Brown, Theater Critic

(Cleveland) Plain Dealer

Wednesday, Oct. 18, 4:09 p.m.

 

The Beck Center for the Arts will stay in Lakewood and form a partnership with city schools to create an arts-education academy that would anchor a possible cultural district in Lakewood’s west end.

 

That was the big news announced Wednesday by Beck board chairman Frederick Unger, Lakewood schools superintendent David Estrop, Mayor Thomas George and other potential partners in the proposal ...

 

More at http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/entertainment/index.ssf?/mtlogs/cleve_entertainment/archives/2006_10.html#196100

Hello, KJP and everyone. If this doesn't look like potential, I don't know what does.

 

Here's a link: http://www.freetimes.com/story/4256

 

Landmark Choice

Beck Center Has Chosen a City. Now the Next Debate Can Begin.

 

By Michael Gill 

 

 

Bob Dobush lives at the theater, and not in any metaphorical sense. The collector and restorer of antique radios keeps an apartment above the long-vacant Hilliard Square theater in Lakewood. He bought the landmark in 1998 to save it from the wrecking ball.

 

Behind the theater's Hilliard Avenue door stands the decaying glory of a bygone era, an ornate lobby and staircase. To the right you can see light at the end of a tunnel — a retail arcade that stretches through the building, all the way to Madison Avenue. These days the spaces are stacked with boxes of old radios and spare parts. Broken cakes of fallen plaster dot the carpet. Inside the auditorium the eyes can't help but be drawn up into the expanse — past the frescoes, past a balcony to a vaulted ceiling, and an endless gallery of architectural details. Depending on your age, you might remember time- warping while the Rocky Horror Picture Show played on the screen, or maybe porno, or art flicks, or, if you can remember more than three decades ago, mainstream movies.

 

These days, like the nearby Variety theater on Lorain, or the LaSalle on East 185th, and so many others in and around Cleveland, the Hilliard sits empty in magnificent decay, defying entrepreneurs and dreamers to figure out a way to use it. Right after Dobush bought the Hilliard, he turned down a purchase offer from one of the drugstore chains — the new owner would have razed the building. Dobush wants to find a buyer who will see it for the architectural landmark it is, and preserve it. Now opportunity is near the door, but whether it knocks will depend on a few local decision makers getting together with the same vision.

 

First among them are the trustees at Beck Center for the Arts. Their announcement last week that the organization —courted by Crocker Park developer Bob Stark — will stay and build new facilities somewhere in Lakewood came as great news for the city. It's also probably one of the best chances Northeast Ohio will ever have to rescue an old theater and return it to active use — not just to patch it up and open the doors, but to restore it, fill it with creative activity, and make it the neighborhood anchor that it once was.

 

 

With interested parties for redevelopment of the Capitol, the Variety and the Hilliard, it seems like the West Side is poised for a real renaissance in theatre renovations. Of course, this is offset a little bit by the upsetting news that the area will concurrently be losing one of the region's remaining drive-ins.

Excellent article, Mike. I also think one of things holding back the Hilliard Theater from seeing redevelopment is the Silver Coast Apartments, which gobbled a chunk of the theater's parking. Of course, I'd love to see the shoddy apartments razed and a parking deck put up in its place, perhaps topped with Beck classrooms, rehearsal rooms, and the like. And, hey while we're at it, how about a restaurant on top? Betcha it would have terrific views of the lake, downtown Lakewood and the Rocky River reservation!

Thanks, KJP. Yeah, you're righta bout that apartment building, which I was asked to not mention by name because of the local implications of the, uh, municipal powers that might be required to get it. But that was absolutely on the mind of the authors of the study--replace it with a parking deck. Wonder if anyone has the cojones to take up that charge in Lakewood any time soon. Your idea of putting other facilities on the top goes even farther in a good direction.

Too bad Lakewood misused a perfectly useful tool like eminent domain and rightfully got a beating for it. If there ever was a use for eminent domain, it's to relocate the Silver Coast apartments to a place where it fosters economic development and synergies, not hinders them.

 

Where to put them? How about at the corner of West 117th and Madison. I've heard that Spitzer wants to build a bank and an Aldi's there, but that's it. I wouldn't mind those things if they were topped with several floors of housing. How ironic that, while traveling east on Madison in Lakewood, as you get closer to the rapid station, the density gets less. Those light-density, parking-lot intensive uses at the corner must be replaced with mixed, denser uses!!