CLAREMONT — The financing for the planned redevelopment of a former restaurant on Opera House Square took another step forward last week.
The City Council approved an application for a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant that would go toward interior renovations of the three-story brick building at 56 Opera House Square, which closed down as a restaurant in the early 1990s and has been vacant ever since.
Also last week, the council transferred ownership of the building from the city to the Claremont Development Authority, which owns other downtown properties including the adjacent Farwell Block. Ownership by the CDA means the building, currently assessed at $250,400, according to city assessing records, will go back on the tax rolls. The city purchased the building in 1995 for $75,000.
The planned redevelopment will total about $1.5 million, according to Melissa Richmond, executive director of the West Claremont Center for Music and Arts.
Richmond’s vision it to turn the building, originally the Claremont National Bank, into a performance venue with gallery space, an art studio, practice rooms, a recording facility and commercial kitchen.
WCCMA recently was awarded $400,000 in tax credits from the New Hampshire Community Development Authority for the project. At last week’s council meeting, Richmond said she is also applying for a $150,000 grant from Jane’s Trust.
According to its web site, the Boston-based foundation “provides funding to improve the quality of life for individuals in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont; in southwest and central Florida; and in the greater Boston area of Massachusetts.”
The trust places a priority on supporting projects for the arts and culture that increase “access to artistic expression and education in the arts for underserved populations” and add to the “artistic and cultural exposure on communities”
Richmond also said she received a $30,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for fundraising and architectural fees.
“Our board has a goal of raising $2 million,” Richmond said.
If all the grants are received, it would leave about $400,000 left to raise.
Planning and Development Director Nancy Merrill told the council they have been working on the project for about two years.
Merrill said she expects the installation of an elevator that would service both the Farwell Block, where the Community Dental Center of Claremont is planning to expand, and 56 Opera House Square, to begin soon.
“A music school right next to the Opera House, I don’t know how you get any better than that,” Merrill said.
Also last week, Assistant Mayor Allen Damren announced that the city manager search committee had narrowed the pool of applicants to four finalists and on-site interviews were being conducted. Damren said 56 people applied for the position and applications were received from around the country.
The goal is to hire someone to start in August
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com
