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Date: 6/21/2021
EASTHAMPTON – The Beveridge Family Foundation recently awarded CitySpace $35,000 to go toward the restoration of Easthampton’s Old Town Hall as a center for the arts for the city and Western Massachusetts at large.
CitySpace is a nonprofit organization that has established and continued to maintain the historic Old Town Hall building as a center for the arts. They are currently raising funds to convert the unused second floor, 3,500 square foot hall into a flexible, accessible 350-seat performing arts and community space for performances, concerts and community events.
“We’re really incredibly honored and excited about the donation,” said Burns Maxey, the CitySpace board president.
According to Maxey, this is the second time the Beveridge Family Foundation has funded CitySpace’s project. Initially, the foundation helped CitySpace kickstart their capital campaign in 2019 with an award of $9,000. “This is definitely a tremendous increase and show of support for the project,” said Maxey regarding the foundation’s second donation.
The donation will specifically go toward the construction and renovations of the second floor which, according to Maxey, will most likely begin at the end of 2022.
“If we were to raise all of the funds together, we could start tomorrow,” said Maxey, who added that CitySpace already has all the architectural plans in place. “However, our estimation is that our capital campaign will end, and we’ll begin construction at the end of 2022, and it’s going to take about a year to finalize the construction of the project.”
Maxey believes that the second floor of the Old Town Hall was no longer accessible starting in the beginning of the 2000s. The Old Town Hall is currently a city-owned building, and CitySpace began the management of the first floor of the building in 2006. The organization did not start the project for the second floor until 2019.
In total, the second-floor project is a $6.9 million project, and CitySpace has so far raised around $4.17 million. “We have a very diverse look at fundraising,” said Maxey. “We’re looking for grant funding from the state, grant funding from foundations, as well as corporate donations, individual donations, etc.”
So far, the organization has had more than 350 donors come forward to support the project. People and foundations have donated anywhere from $10 to $500,000, according to Maxey. The Easthampton Community Preservation Act committee donated $3 million to the project.
“The second floor is a great, big beautiful hall,” she said. “Currently, we cannot use the space allowable to the public.”
The plan is to install an elevator to the left in the building, as well as restrooms on the second floor for accessibility purposes. The overall blueprint of the area is staying the same, but Maxey did say that they are planning to add storage and flexible seating and a stage that can be utilized for configuration.
“The building itself is structurally sound,” said Maxey, who added that they are looking to install a new ceiling. “Because it is a historical building, we have to abide by Mass. Historical guidelines with their approval…as well as reproduce the historic qualities of the space.”
Ward Caswell, the president of the Beveridge Family Foundation, said of their donation to CitySpace, “We have been pleased to be a frequent supporter of CitySpace and continue to be impressed with the organization, it’s leadership and results. We look forward to the additional renovations of the former City Hall and the many amenities offered to Easthampton residents.”
The Beveridge Family Foundation is an organization that seeks to enhance the quality of life through grant-making incentives in support of programs in youth development, health, education, religion, art and environment. They mainly work with programs in Hampden and Hampshire Counties.