Brooke Taylor, chairman of the Port Angeles Waterfront Center, talks with Port Angeles Business Association members following his presentation Tuesday on the efforts to build a new performing arts center in Port Angeles. (Jesse Major/Peninsula Daily News)

Brooke Taylor, chairman of the Port Angeles Waterfront Center, talks with Port Angeles Business Association members following his presentation Tuesday on the efforts to build a new performing arts center in Port Angeles. (Jesse Major/Peninsula Daily News)

Progress made on Port Angeles performing arts center

PORT ANGELES — Plans for the Port Angeles Waterfront Center are moving forward as its nonprofit hires an interim executive director, chooses an architect firm and hopes to include a conference center in the future performing arts center, said Brooke Taylor, the chairman of the committee creating the center.

Taylor told about two dozen people during the Port Angeles Business Association meeting Tuesday that Chris Fidler would serve as the interim executive director starting in January.

“We found as soon as we started working closely with the architects, we needed a full-time executive person to help us,” he said. “We are excited to have [Fidler] on the team.”

The $15 million to $20 million performing arts center, planned for the dormant Oak Street property downtown, is made possible by a pair of donations.

Left $9 million

The late Donna M. Morris of Port Angeles left $9 million to the Peninsula College Foundation to develop the performing arts center. That gift was followed by a $1.43 million donation from Port Angeles resident Dorothy Field for the purchase of the 1.6-acre parcel at the northwest corner of Front and Oak streets.

The performing arts center will be designed by LMN Architects of Seattle, the firm that designed Benaroya Hall in Seattle and the Science and Technology Building on the Peninsula College campus.

One of the design aspects that is known at this point is that the building will be built of wood to showcase the city’s timber history and industry.

“It represents the history of this community,” Taylor said.

Talks are in progress about including a conference center in the performing arts center.

“The will says, ‘Thou shall build a performing arts center,’” Taylor said. “Our goal is to leverage those two incredible gifts to make it more than just a performing arts center.”

The goal, Taylor said, is for the center to be an anchor for downtown, as well as a destination performance venue.

Deputy Mayor Cherie Kidd called the center “an answer to prayer for the whole community.”

“In Port Angeles, we have a real void for a conference center,” she said. “We’ve done the best with what we had.”

The performing arts center board doesn’t plan to compete with the other venues in Port Angeles. Taylor speculated it could seat 600 to 800 people, though the capacity hasn’t been decided yet.

The development is in its first phase, which includes a written assessment of what the community needs and supports, he said.

That phase should end in March and include cost estimates of options.

“At that point, we will make some strategic decisions and move on to the next phase: designing what this facility will look like,” Taylor said.

He didn’t know when groundbreaking would be, but he anticipated it would be at least a year. The parcel will continue to operate as a parking lot until construction begins, he said.

In her will, Morris had directed that the committee set aside an unspecified amount of money as an endowment, which would help fund keeping the performing arts center running, he said.

That amount could be about $2 million or $3 million.

“We’ll set aside as much as we can to make sure we can pay our overhead,” he said.

Taylor anticipates the center will be eligible for city lodging tax dollars, which would help with funding.

________

Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

Mike Chapman.
Chapman leads Kelbon for district Senate seat

Mike Chapman was leading the 24th Legislative District state Senate… Continue reading

Steve Tharinger.
Tharinger leads Roberts for state House position

Incumbent Steve Tharinger outpaced Terry Roberts in a race for… Continue reading

Three state ballot initiatives rejected

Fourth measure passing with narrow margin

Two-lane bypass to open on Saturday

Construction crews will open a two-lane bypass for U.S. Highway… Continue reading

Heather Dudley-Nollette.
Dudley-Nollette wins Jefferson County seat

Heather Dudley-Nollette defeated fellow Democrat Ben Thomas for the… Continue reading

15 members voted to sit on Charter Review Commission

Fifteen candidates emerged as charter review commissioners out of… Continue reading

Adam Bernbaum.
Bernbaum leads Roberson for state House seat

Democrat Adam Bernbaum led Republican Matthew Roberson in the race… Continue reading

Clallam County Sheriff’s Office investigating woman’s death in Sequim

The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an investigation into… Continue reading

Emily Randall.
Randall wins 6th Congressional District seat

Reproductive freedom, abortion access will be top priorities, she says

Three of four statewide initiatives failing

Three of the four statewide initiatives were failing in initial… Continue reading

Tharinger, Bernbaum, Chapman leading in 24th Legislative District

Incumbent Steve Tharinger and newcomer Adam Bernbaum were leading in… Continue reading

Dudley-Nollette wins Jefferson County commissioner seat

Heather Dudley-Nollette won the District 1 seat on the… Continue reading