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BELLEFONTE -- The Centre County Commissioners have requested a Statewide Local Share Assessment grant of $1,000,000 from the Commonwealth Financing Authority to be used for the Stage at Talleyrand.
"The county is taking a much more active role now in helping local nonprofits and county projects have a shot at receiving this funding," said Chairman Mark Higgins.
The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development funds the Statewide Local Share program through gambling and horse racing revenues.
This grant is for use for projects that improve the quality of life for citizens in the community, and projects must be owned and maintained by an eligible applicant or nonprofit to be considered eligible for this grant.
According to the DCED, eligible applicants include: Pennsylvania Counties, Municipalities, Municipal Authorities, Economic Development Agencies, Redevelopment Authorities, Land Banks and Councils of Government.
Rick Jacobs, Tom Bathgate and Tom Wilson were in attendance during Tuesday's meeting to talk about The Stage at Talleyrand.
Jacobs gave the commissioners and audience a quick background on the Stage at Talleyrand, as well as an update on their progress since their last meeting with the commissioners back in July of this year.
The Stage at Talleyrand is going to be located at the Talleyrand Annex -- offering sufficient space to build a stage for larger performances and allow performers to safely "load in" and "load out" equipment.
Commissioner Steven Dershem asked what the timeframe for the stage would be if they were to receive this grant from the state. According to Bathgate, the plan is to have a groundbreaking in October of 2024.
"Right now there's the Pelican SnoBall Shop. Depending on the plan we end up with --how much land we're going to have -- that may or may not stay. We're in discussions with the borough, now. Originally we thought that was going to go but we're not sure right now. If it goes, the stage will be there and face the big green in the park and the back of the project will be a nice entrance into town," said Jacobs.
It is designed to showcase local talent, accommodate a wide range of performers and audiences, including musical performances or theatrics. They also hope for the space to provide an area for cultural events -- having a positive impact on the local economy by attracting visitors and increasing tourism.
"We're really excited about this project. We have an architect under contract, we have a builder working with the architect and we've been raising money for the last year, year and a half quietly. On May 1 we announced that we got a $1 million grant from DCED to fund the project. We're somewhere north of $1.1 million now with that (grant)" said Jacobs.
Downtown Bellefonte Inc. (DBI) has partnered with the initiative to become the fiscal agent for the Stage at Talleyrand Campaign, ensuring that donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law without the need to start a new non-profit.
Tax-deductible gifts can be made as a one-time gift or a pledge payable over two years -- made monthly, quarterly or yearly.
Any funds raised in excess of the building goal will be directed to an endowment earmarked for facility maintenance and programming.
"We continue to talk to people about major gifts and have had some very promising conversations," said Jacobs.
According to Jacobs, the committee gave themselves a May 1, 2024 cutoff.
"At that point we'll take stock of how much money we have and we'll build a stage with the funds we have. We're not locked into any final design. We're just hopeful that we can bring a big stage," said Jacobs.
"The footprint of the stage is around 3,800 square feet. It is sized to handle the Bellefonte Community Band, every high school band in the county -- which we met with two of the band directors, State College and Bellefonte -- and the Nittany Valley Symphony Orchestra who would like to use that," said Bathgate.
Previously, performers had to perform in a small gazebo with poor acoustics. Audience members have complained in the past that the sounds of the nearby road drowns out any performances taking place there.
"The basic concept is to build an outdoor facility that's acoustically well designed. There are no full-time outdoor performance centers in Centre County. There's some part time ones... but we find that with the concerts in the park and using the gazebo -- the gazebo was designed for bands in the 1800s," said Wilson.
"Glad to see this moving along. This seems like a good use of local share dollars if the state will consider it. It would certainly bring a lot of visitors to Bellefonte and Centre County. I can see the need for this kind of a venue. Thanks for all your work on it and I'm happy to support this," said Commissioner Amber Concepcion.
If all goes according to plan, bands should be able to perform at the stage in the summer of 2025.
"We want to expand the arts in Bellefonte. Bellefonte has always been a community that has promoted the performing arts, and we want to continue to do that. We see this as a step forward in doing that not only in Bellefonte but in Centre County in general," Wilson continued.
"Bellefonte is becoming more and more of an attraction. More and more events. This would be a wonderful addition to the great place we call Bellefonte," said Higgins.
The Stage at Talleyrand Development Committee is an all-volunteer committee of residents dedicated to creating an open-air performing arts facility in the heart of Downtown Bellefonte, consisting of: Tom Bathgate, Rick Jacobs, Pam Aikey, Michael Desmond, Stuart Echols, Talley Fisher, Tom Hesketh, Don Holderman, Melissa Hombosky, Kay Kustanbauter, Ed Olsen, Ralph Stewart, Holly Wilson and Tom Wilson.
For more information or a donation link, you can visit stageattalleyrand.org or contact Rick Jacobs, fundraising coordinator, at 814-769-9028 or via email info@StageAtTalleyrand.org