'Enjoy the show'

Lease agreement with community theater for Arts Center approved by Council

Simpsonville, S.C. — Simpsonville City Council approved in May a lease agreement with community theater Mill Town Players for producing live performances in the Simpsonville Arts Center for the next five years.

The lease agreement, which City Council adopted by a vote of 6-0, allows the Pelzer-based Mill Town Players to use the auditorium, green room, lobby concession area and one classroom for the intended use of "providing a full season of high quality plays, musicals and concerts ... ." Mill Town Players is required to produce four performances per year starting in November.

City Administrator Dianna Gracely presented the lease agreement to Council at the May business meeting. Gracely said the City had just issued a request for proposals from performance groups before hiring her in spring 2018, to which only Mill Town Players responded.

"Certainly we are not entering into this agreement because they were the only respondent," Gracely assured Council. "We are very fortunate that they responded to it, and I believe that we are getting a very successful performing arts group to come in and hold 4-6 performances minimum per year in that facility so that there’s always activity going on."

Breathing life into the old elementary school building at 110 Academy St. has been a years-long priority for the current Council. In summer 2019, the City secured through Gracely's efforts a $500,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission for renovations to the building to transform it into a true arts center. Construction began this spring on the renovation project, which includes an ovehaul of the auditorium, new windows and a new HVAC system.

(Council commits to contractor for Arts Center renovation)

Councilman Matthew Gooch of Ward 1 said the building means "a tremendous amount" to him since his parents attended the former school and his grandfather worked on the building.

"Many years ago when I came on Council, there was a different vision for that place that would ... turn it into something that ... would’ve been offices basically just for the municipal use," Gooch said. "That’s not totally useless, but the public would not have enjoyed any of it. There was a different vision that I had, one that other members of Council had and one that more importantly the community had for that building, and we all stuck to our guns, and that vision is being seen today.” 

Part of Council's overall policy of economic development has an emphasis on the arts and culture. Gracely noted at the Council meeting that studies demonstrate that the impact of a ticket purchase for a live performance ripples throughout a local economy when that ticket purchaser eats a local restaurant, shops at a local boutique or buys gas from the local convenience store.

Mill Town Players is expected to play a vital role in the continued growth of the Simpsonville economy by attracting visitors to the area and outside dollars.

“I think we have an excellent partner in moving this facility forward to the vision that you all have for it," Gracely said. "We designed (the lease agreement) so that it would not be burdensome to them to meet their fiduciary responsibility to the city so that their payment structure is relatively low monthly, but we do also have the ability to lease other spaces in that facility to generate additional revenue.”

The lease agreement is good for an initial 5-year term with the option of two 3-year renewal terms. If both renewals were to be adopted, the agreement between the City and Mill Town Players for at least four shows per year would last more than a decade. Mill Town Players is scheduled to pay the City $500 per month to lease the designated portion of the Arts Center.

Councilmember Stephanie Kelley of Ward 2 said that she remembers contributing while in college to an effort by a group of citizens to turn the old school building into something useful.

"This is a source of tremendous pride, I think, for this town," Kelley said.

Gooch had something to say for anyone who may remain skeptical about the possibility of a successful arts center on Academy Street.

"To all the naysayers: buy a ticket and enjoy the show."