Senior center boosters appeal to donors

Promoters say it's time to raise the cash to complete the Crescent Theater project or give back the state's $200,000.

By CHASE SQUIRES

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 15, 2000

DADE CITY -- An agency determined to turn the decrepit husk of the Crescent Theater into a senior center and community theater on Thursday called for massive public financial support.

Donors must come forward to keep the project alive as support from Tallahassee has been less than expected, said Bill Aycrigg, chief executive officer of Community Aging and Retirement Services.

The project's financial adviser, Charles Sobel, said the effort must yield a substantial amount of donations by June 30.

Area lawmakers sought $475,000 for the project during last year's legislative session but got $200,000.

This year, Rep. Ken Littlefield, R-Dade City, and Sen. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, again asked for $475,000. Aycrigg said so far, the Senate version of the budget includes $150,000 for the project while the House version includes $200,000.

Any proposal would need to be included in the finished version of the bill, and then win approval from Gov. Jeb Bush. Aycrigg said it is possible the project could even be removed from the budget.

Turning the old building into a senior enrichment center and community theater will take about $977,000, according to the latest estimates from CARES.

With the $200,000 already collected from the state and anticipating $150,000 this year, Aycrigg said the project could not move forward.

'We're coming up short," Aycrigg told about 25 east Pasco community and cultural leaders at a meeting Thursday night. 'We need to know where the businesses are in the community, where the prospective donors are in the community."

Thursday's meeting drew Dade City Mayor Charles McIntosh, Commissioner Bill Dennis, Commissioner-elect Hutch Brock, Saint Leo Mayor Janis Klingle, city managers from both Dade City and Zephyrhills, and representatives from area arts and theater groups.

Sobel said CARES must show it can raise the cash to complete the project or give back the money the state has already provided.

'We're past the point of pledges," he said. 'We need to get this money in the bank."

Bobby Jordan, who works with the Pasco High School Thespians acting troupe, said the students want to be in the lead. He announced that the group is donating $500 to the project, proceeds from the recent production of Hemingway.

Ginny Solberg, volunteer project coordinator, said the project will require help from individuals, community groups, corporations and skilled trades workers and contractors, who could donate time or material in the renovation.

'Everybody has to reach not only into their pockets, but into their hearts, too, and say "This needs to happen,' " Solberg said.

Plans for the building, donated to CARES in 1998 by Glen and Gail Greenfelder and A.R. 'Chip" and Deana Mander, call for a three-stage restoration.

In the first phase, with the $200,000 secured last year in the Legislature, CARES plans to pay off the remaining $40,000 mortgage, replace the roof and build a floor.

The second phase, with a price of $417,000, calls for everything needed to open the building as a senior center, including plumbing, interior walls and wiring.

The third phase, costing $360,000, would add seating and other requirements to create a community theater.

When finished, the building would seat about 900 for theater productions and serve an estimated 7,500 seniors during day programs throughout the year.

The Crescent Theater was erected in 1926 along what was then the city's main street, Fifth Street. The concrete building was billed as fireproof and seated about 900. In its heyday, the theater featured first-run movies, plays and vaudeville shows.

Traffic shifted to Seventh Street in the 1940s, and the theater declined, serving as a library for a defunct college and as a car dealership. It is vacant now and gutted, but the walls remain sturdy, Aycrigg said.

How to help

Cash and in-kind donations may be pledged by calling Bill Aycrigg at (727) 862-9291 or by calling Ginny Solberg at (352) 567-6857.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.