Image Up Advertising & Design

OUR YUCAIPA | MAY 2015 17 we have, but if we are going to spend all the money and time and not have it done the right way. It's a shame. I'm afraid it's going to look like a big conference center." Toomey said the city visited performing arts centers in nearby cities, where officials told them they wished they would have made the building multipurpose. "I sure understand the theater groups interest in having a dedicated performing arts center," he said. "We've had many discussions about the balancing of a number of community needs and the versatility of the proposed center seems to be the best solution. The orchestra pit was discussed at length. While each would've found it beneficial, other than the high school, none of the theater groups thought it was necessary for their productions. The number of times traveling shows that need a pit coming to the YPAC hasn't been raised as a critical element." Toomey also said it's his understanding that with or without a soft proscenium, a stage curtain is included with the design. "It's probably a little too early to project how often each group needs access to the main stage over the course of the year." Toomey did point out that a permanent outdoor stage facing Yucaipa Boulevard will offer extra rehearsal space and will replace the temporary stage set up on California and Avenue E during city events like the annual Music and Arts Festival in May. Toomey estimates a crowd capacity of up to 7,000 filling the streets out to the roundabout from the stage during the festival. "What is most exciting about the project, besides having a state of the art facility, is its location," said Toomey. "Building it in the Uptown will continue to revitalize the area and hopefully draw new types of shops and businesses as a result of it being there. It will be a nice shot in the arm to the area." Toomey envisions an Uptown visitor center in the future that will bring people back to Yucaipa for other activities. "There are so many things than can grow out of this, not just for performers but for those who support them. With this technically current facility it's a real education opportunity and may springboard other career opportunities," he said. Toomey said the creation of the Performing Arts Center dates back several years when the city did a public facilities need study that asked Yucaipans what they thought was needed in the city. "What came to the top of the list was a performing arts and cultural center," said Toomey. City officials followed up with a handful of meetings with performing arts groups in Yucaipa to get a feel for what the needs would be and got input from visual art groups as well. Then the analysis of where to put it began, he said, and it made sense to put it in a historic area. As people park in the area they walk past other businesses in the Uptown and see what's there, he said. "Cultural centers are in city's historic areas by design," Toomey said. The center is moving forward at a good speed, Toomey said, and the city is actively looking for companies or individuals to come forward for naming rights. "If someone wants to pay five million dollars we are open to naming it after them," Toomey laughed. Other fundraising will take place to offset costs like plaques on seats, wall bricks and other naming rights in development. The rest of the $7.5 million project will be paid for through development impact fees and the city's general fund. The project could possibly break ground by the end of the year, Toomey said, and will take an estimated nine months to complete.

• Cover