HSNA builds momentum toward saving theater
By Stephanie Kist
HIGHLAND SQUARE — The Highland Square Neighborhood Association (HSNA) is not losing steam.
In the week since word surfaced that a permit had been taken out to demolish a portion of the Highland Theater, the HSNA has moved forward on a plan to facilitate the purchase of the theater instead.
In an afternoon press conference Jan. 22, HSNA President Lisa Bostwick restated the group’s desire to see a community performing arts center established in the theater building.
Reading from a prepared statement, she said, “We are proposing a multi-use facility that can be accessed by the school for performances, award ceremonies and other education purposes; by the community for town hall meetings, charity events, private parties and seminars; and as an entertainment destination showing films, concerts and theatrical productions.”
Residents who attended the press conference said the theater is a treasure that must be saved.
“It’s a treasure
and something we have to work real hard to try to keep,”
said Progress Through Preservation (PTP)
President Dave Meeker.
PTP member Rosemary Reymann,
a resident of Highland Square, added theaters such as
the Highland are among the most important buildings
to preserve in a neighborhood.
Also at the press conference
was former theater manager Jack Colman. “This
is a landmark here in Akron,” he said.
Bostwick said the HSNA is in
discussion with private investors for the purchase of
the theater. She declined to name the interested parties
but is confident they are viable buyers.
It remains to be seen whether
the theater is for sale, however.
Theater owner Ted Bare, of Ted
Bare Enterprises Inc., who took out the permit earlier
this month, hasn’t returned calls seeking comment
to the West Side Leader as of presstime, and hasn’t
spoken publicly about his plans for the theater.
He hadn’t spoken with the
HSNA as of Jan. 22, either.
“We’d just like to
see Mr. Bare give us a call and come to the table,”
said Bostwick, who commended
Bare for operating the theater for as long as he has.
There is concern among Highland
Square residents and HSNA members that the theater will
be demolished to create room for a parking lot or for
the building of Portage Path Community Learning Center
(CLC) on the footprint of the Portage Path School for
Technology.
However, Bostwick made it clear
that the HSNA “stands with the community in building
a brand new, state-of-the-art school that gives each
Portage Path student the greatest opportunity for success.”
As construction of the Portage
Path CLC nears, the HSNA hopes demolition of the theater
won’t be part of the plan.
Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic said
Jan. 17 that he did not approach Bare to request he
take out a permit to demolish the theater portion of
the building.
He said further discussions will
take place before demolition would go forward.
He also said the city is
not in a position to buy the theater
and operate it as such.
“I don’t have an
interest in running and operating a theater that the
private sector hasn’t been able to support all
these years,” he said.
Bostwick said the HSNA had a
productive meeting with Plusquellic last week and are
eager to work with City Council and city officials to
save the theater from demolition and reuse it as a facility
that will benefit Highland Square, the city as a whole
and the Akron Public Schools (APS).
Bostwick and supporters also
attended the APS Board of Education and Akron City Council
meetings Jan. 22. [See related
Akron City Council meeting report on Page
4 and APS Board of Education
report on Page
1.]
“We’re asking for
your support to get some time,” Bostwick said
to City Council members, outlining how the HSNA already
is working on a viable business plan, market study and
feasibility study. “We have a lot of work done
already.”
Council President Marco
Sommerville (D-ward 3) briefly responded, saying, “This
has been an issue that is a difficult issue. We’re
all concerned about what happens in Highland Square.”
The HSNA will host a meeting
Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at First Grace Church, 350 S. Portage
Path.
HSNA President Lisa Bostwick also
lead a coalition of supporters to the Akron City Council
meeting later that evening.
The Highland Square Neighborhood
Association (HSNA) hosted a press conference Jan. 22
in front of the Highland Theater to make a statement
regarding the possible closing and demolition of the
theater. The HSNA is working toward securing a buyer
and establishing a nonprofit community performing arts
center at the theater instead. Photos:
Ken Crisafi
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