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Date: 7/6/2021
EASTHAMPTON – CitySpace, the volunteer nonprofit organization that continues to maintain Easthampton’s Old Town Hall as a center for the arts, is celebrating its 15th anniversary since its inception.
“We are so excited to meet the milestone of 15 years,” said Burns Maxey, the CitySpace board president. “We provided space for other creative organizations and moved gingerly yet focused towards restoring Old Town Hall.”
Easthampton vacated its Old Town Hall offices in 2003. The city’s Future Use Committee then asked residents through 3,000 surveys what they would like to see for long-term use in the city. Most residents supported the idea of a dedicated place for the arts.
CitySpace was founded in 2006 by Eastworks owner Will Bundy and Ed Check, senior lecturer of theatre at Smith College. The goal of the organization was to manage the first floor, bring “inspiring” arts experiences to its spaces, and reduce the building’s maintenance costs to Easthampton’s taxpayers.
CitySpace is currently a city-owned building, and maintenance for the first floor occurred in 2006. Originally, the lease for the building was only supposed to last for three years, but Easthampton eventually finalized a 44-year lease deal with CitySpace for the Old Town Hall to continue its restoration.
The organization then launched a Transformation Campaign in 2019 to jumpstart the restoration of the second floor of the Old Town Hall. According to Maxey, the $6.9 million project looks to transform the 3,500 square foot hall into an accessible and flexible 350-seat performing arts and community space.
“Honestly, this 15-year milestone took us by surprise,” said Maxey. “I think of CitySpace as a thread of meaningful opportunities with comprehensive solutions.”
According to Maxey, CitySpace already has the architectural plans in place, and if all the money was raised now, they could immediately start the restoration process on the second floor. They have so far raised $4.17 million of the $6.9 million and plan to start construction by the end of 2022.
“It’s a winning project for everyone,” said Maxey, when speaking on the restoration process in general. “Representatives from the city, for-profit businesses, nonprofits, artists, and community members have come together over the past 15 years to ask the hard questions about how can CitySpace feasibly grow and restore Old Town Hall to be a destination for future generations to come.”
The structure of the Old Town Hall favors equitability over profitability, according to Maxey. While the goal is to maintain the hall and the costs associated with it, Maxey added that CitySpace must also consider the affordability for those who lease the spaces.
“Old Town Hall is a place for artists, performers, and musicians to incubate their creativity,” said Maxey. “It’s a place for the community to gather, generate ideas, and share purposeful connections.”
The restoration of the second floor will include installing an elevator and restrooms for accessibility purposes. The overall blueprint is staying the same, according to Maxey, but CitySpace is planning to add flexible seating and a stage, among other additions. A little over 350 donors have come forward to support the project, as of press time.
“The response to making the second floor of the Old Town Hall an accessible and flexible performing arts space has been incredibly inspiring,” said Maxey. “This project is key to not only representing our history but our future.”
For those looking to donate to the transformation of the Old Town Hall second floor, visit http://www.cityspaceeasthampton.org/transformation.