Hilton Head arts venue proposal needs answers
Hilton Head Island arts campus supporters think the town needs to get out in front of the issue after many questions have been raised by the public.
But in truth, the Town of Hilton Head Island is too far out in front of the issue. It requested $30 million from a potential countywide sales tax for something it had not approved. That sum was whittled to $9.5 million by a skeptical commission working on the sales tax proposal.
Mayor David Bennett says a committee is working on it and will have answers by the end of the year. But for now, virtually nothing is known about the idea, except that it exists. It is proposed as something to drive the economy, but it will not drive the economy if it goes bust. A series of stories by our staff this spring indicates that building and keeping arts centers afloat is a major challenge in much larger markets, with deep corporate pockets.
We have not seen the need verified. The cost has not been justified. The location has not been stated, other than hinting at the Honey Horn tract, which would be a travesty.
A business plan has not been revealed. The request to the sales tax commission showed the campus could cost $50 million to $60 million, so we know a heck of a lot of business would need to be stirred up on the revenue side of the ledger.
No word has come from the town on how this new endeavor would mesh with the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina. Would that entity remain intact? Would the town continue its annual allocation of some $400,000 in accommodations tax money to the arts center? Would the town spend the half-million dollars requested for updating the sound and lighting systems in an arts center facility?
Twenty years ago, that entity and building were to unite arts organizations and get our theater out of an old warehouse and onto a main stage more fitting for an affluent, arts-infused community such as this one. What happened?
A subsequent phase of the current arts center was to be a large auditorium. What happened?
It’s a long story, of course, beginning with its launch without an endowment.
Still, every detail must be publicly dissected before the town considers either spending more money on an existing arts organization and facility, and certainly before it were to get involved with another arts venue.
It is easy to say that the town should support the arts. It is already doing that. It is easy to say that it would be nice to have a larger auditorium for concerts and a nice home for the orchestra. But what proof is there that this community can afford it?
Our reporters looked at similar venues around the region and found that major corporate or family donations are mandatory up front, in the form of an endowment and in sums in the $10 million range.
The top 10 contributors in the roughly $9 million raised for the current arts center, not counting the land donation by the James C. Self family, were: State of South Carolina ($3 million), town accommodations tax funds ($2,337,500), Rowley Foundation ($500,000), Elizabeth Foundation ($475,000), Heritage Classic Foundation ($300,000), Arthur Blank Foundation ($250,000), Playhouse matching gift ($250,000), NationsBank ($250,000), Hargray ($200,000 plus $50,000 in-kind), and Beaufort County ($150,000).
What private support — in terms of money, not lectures on how nice a new building would be — was in place before the town asked for $30 million in tax money? The town is way out in front on this idea, and it must answer simple questions that require specific, detailed answers and a great deal of private input — in terms of money, not lectures on how horrible the new building would be.
This story was originally published May 29, 2016 at 8:47 AM with the headline "Hilton Head arts venue proposal needs answers."