$5 million performing arts center planned near Old Town Bluffton. Where will it go?
It’s showtime in Bluffton.
A local church group and youth theater organization are planning to build a 420-seat performing arts center near Old Town Bluffton.
The planned Live Oak Performing Arts Center will serve as a home for both Live Oak Christian Church and Main Street Youth Theatre, but the partners view it as the “Bluffton community’s home,” said Daniel Cort, a Live Oak member and vice chair of the Main Street Youth Theatre board.
The 17,000-square foot center will be along State Street in Bluffton Village.
The center would be the first for Bluffton and is expected to be larger than the 349-seat Arts Center Of Coastal Carolina on Hilton Head Island.
“It’s going to be a gorgeous building,” Cort said. “It’s the ambiance of being in a theater. We don’t have anything like that in Bluffton where you can have that experience. Bluffton Village is quickly becoming a smaller version of the promenade.”
Church and theatre representatives say they hope the arts center will attract local and regional performing artists.
“We will be doing our shows there, and it’s going to be available for community events,” Cort said. “We’ve already had preliminary conversations with the Bluffton Youth Choir.”
Sheila Livesay, financial administrator for Live Oak Christian Church, said the center has been the church’s vision for the past decade. The nondenominational church, which meets Sundays for two worship services at the Bluffton School of Dance at 123 Persimmon Ave, was founded in 2002.
Main Street Youth Theatre, which started in the early 1990s as the Hilton Head Community and Youth Theater, produces two to four shows per year and has annual attendance of more than 5,000.
Both groups have been meeting for about two years to discuss the plans, Cort said.
Added Livesay: “It’s our gift to the community.”
The $5 million project will be funded through a capital campaign from INJOY Stewardship Solutions. The church plans to raise about $3 million for the center, Livesay said.
Main Street Youth Theatre will fund $2 million for the project in pre-paid rent to access the space for 30 years, Cort said.
“Live Oak will own the building,” he said. “However, we have subletting rights which allows us to work with other partners.”
Cort said he hopes construction to begin by November “if all goes as planned.”
“We’ve got a lot of work to do, but if initial response is any indicator, from parents to local businesses to Mayor [Lisa] Sulka with the town, then it’s incredibly exciting,” Cort said.
Bluffton spokesperson Debbie Szpanka said the town met with Ward Edwards Engineering to discuss the project last spring. Once plans are submitted, the town’s building safety department will review them to make sure they comply with building codes, and the planning department will ensure the plans satisfy the architectural requirements of the Bluffton Village property owners association.
Both groups will be hosting fundraising events throughout the year.
Live Oak Christian Church plans to hold a service at the property on State Street on Feb. 23 in which its leaders show church members video renderings of the church.
“We’re bringing our whole congregation in,” Livesay said. “We’re here to celebrate.”
The theater’s first official fundraising event will be a VIP event after a March 4 performance of “Peter Pan Jr.” at Hilton Head Preparatory School Main Street Theatre on Hilton Head Island. The night will include complimentary heavy hors d’oeuvres, a look back at the theatre’s history, and an unveiling of the performing arts center plans.
