BY JOHN BAYLES | The Performing Arts Center Board of Directors, currently made up of five members appointed by Mayor Bloomberg, met for the first time on Friday, Feb. 10 for a presentation on the building’s design by Frank Gehry Architects.
However the presentation did not yield much discussion and the meeting was described by a spokesperson at the 9/11 Memorial Foundation as informal.
“The design hasn’t changed,” said P.A.C. board member and Chair of Community Board 1 Julie Menin.
Gehry’s design for the building includes two theaters, one of which will contain 1,000 seats and is set to be occupied by the Joyce Theater dance company. There will also be rehearsal space, classrooms and a café. Currently, the building is to be constructed on the current site of the temporary PATH station, just east of One World Trade Center.
According to Menin, the board will hold monthly meetings and the next meeting will focus on “logistics and planning.”
“Obviously we need to come up with a programming plan for the center before the board can go out and begin the fundraising process,” said Menin.
Menin said the board should determine quickly the different types of programming in order to develop a capital plan to take to the private sector.
The board will be responsible for coming up with $500 million dollars to finance the construction of the center.
Currently, the Joyce is the P.A.C.’s sole tenant, with talk of the Tribeca Film Festival occupying some space as well. Originally, the Drawing Center, the International Freedom Center and the Signature Theatre were designated as tenants for the P.A.C.
Menin believes the center should feature different mediums, from performing arts to visual arts, and hopes the P.A.C. will resemble Lincoln Center. She also believes the center will play a vital role in the community’s revitalization. She mentioned neighborhoods such as SoHo and Chelsea as communities that have benefited in terms of art galleries leading to more retail businesses.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who helped secure some of the $155 million that has been earmarked for the P.A.C. said, “I believe it was a commitment made to the community, for all the years of disruption that has taken place [in Lower Manhattan].”
Silver said the center would be a “jewel” for Lower Manhattan and he was “100 percent” committed to making the center a reality.
