Thursday, March 11, 2004

News-Journal Center dream breaks ground

By JOHN BOZZO
NEWS-JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

DAYTONA BEACH — Shivering on the cool, windy riverfront downtown, more than 200 people celebrated the start of construction Wednesday on a project warm to their hearts: the News-Journal Center.

Supporters expect the $29 million performing and visual arts center, scheduled for completion in December 2005, to become a focal point for cultural activity in Volusia and Flagler counties and an economic engine for the downtown area.

“This is just the beginning of the best for our area,” said Glenn Ritchey, chairman of the Lively Arts Center Inc. board of directors, still wearing a white hard hat with his suit and tie as he and other dignitaries accepted congratulations after the ceremonial groundbreaking.

Lively Arts Center Inc. is the nonprofit corporation spearheading plans to build the 98,000-square-foot center. The center will include an 860-seat theater to serve as a home for the professional Seaside Music Theater.

The center also will be available to community groups.

Construction will also feature a 260-seat studio theater, lobby reception area, rehearsal rooms, classrooms, offices, dance studios, conference rooms, reception room, box office, catering kitchen and gift shop.

“The arts community is a major part of our quality of life and this will be a significant boost to our quality of life,” said Ormond Beach Mayor Fred Costello as he stood in the crowd of supporters. “I plan to be here all the time.”

Mike Jiloty, a public relations professional, looked up from the crowd gathered at the News-Journal Center construction site in the city’s downtown riverfront area on Beach Street to the arching, high-rise Broadway Bridge, which opened three years ago.

“We have a signature bridge and now we’ll have a signature building,” he said.

In addition to professional productions and community groups, the University of Central Florida will offer a master of fine arts in musical theater degree program at the center.

“This project will offer improved educational opportunities for your students,” said Kathryn Seidel, dean of the University of Central Florida’s College of Arts and Sciences. “They’ll train here, work with professionals and move on to other things.”

Construction is expected to provide 520 jobs and a $35 million boost to the local economy. Ongoing operations will mean an annual $11 million economic impact and 235 permanent jobs in the arts and hospitality industry, according to a study by Fishkind and Associates of Orlando, including direct dollars and money re-spent in the community.

“The center will provide great benefits in cultural tourism for our county, by offering entertainment for our visitors and residents and encouraging them to spend time and money in our local businesses, restaurants and hotels,” said Volusia County Councilman Frank Bruno.

Private sources, including $13 million for naming rights from News-Journal Corp., will pay for about 62 percent of construction costs. A campaign to raise the final $3 million is under way.

Government grants will pay for the balance of construction costs, chiefly a $2.4 million grant over four years from Volusia County’s ECHO program, which funds ecological, cultural, historic and outdoors projects through a voter-approved tax.

Speaker after speaker praised The News-Journal on Wednesday and the first family of the newspaper, the Davidsons, for a legacy of supporting worthwhile projects.

“It’s rare that a city receives a gift of this magnitude,” said Rick Shiver, a city commissioner also currently serving as vice mayor.

Tippen Davidson, president and chief executive officer of the News-Journal Corp. and co-editor of The Daytona Beach News-Journal, said community leadership is a tradition that will continue with the newspaper and his family.

Davidson recalled struggles to get the building started over the past seven years and said many people pulled together to get construction started.

“It’s going to be a beautiful building,” he said.