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EDC discusses multiuse entertainment and event‑space options; board urges outside partners and field visits
Summary
The EDC held a wide-ranging discussion on creating entertainment and event space in White House, from small outdoor stages and food‑truck clusters to multiuse developments; board members recommended pursuing third‑party partners, exploring potential sites (including city‑owned parcels), and conducting field visits to comparable venues.
The Economic Development Corporation opened a broad discussion about possible entertainment and event spaces for White House, exploring small open‑air stages, food‑truck clusters, repurposed buildings and larger multiuse developments.
The board discussed examples from other towns—micro‑restaurants around a central plaza, repurposed school buildings with outdoor wings, container food courts and covered open‑air stages—and considered site constraints including floodplain areas and parking. Members suggested starting with lower‑cost, flexible options (rotating food trucks, temporary stages and PowerPoint displays) while identifying sites for larger investments.
“One, what type of facility, what would that look like? Two, where would you put it? And three, how much would it cost?” said the meeting chair, summarizing the board’s three questions to guide any future work. Several members said the EDC lacks the staff and capital to deliver a large anchor project alone and recommended recruiting third‑party developers or investors and engaging Retail Coach or other consultants for market validation.
Board members flagged several possible locations—city‑owned parcels near Center Food Store, the site behind CVS, a parcel formerly known as Rosefields and other parcels near Forestdale and the Highway 110 corridor. Members suggested considering annexation and road improvements where needed, and noted that some parcels could be suitable for outdoor venues that tolerate intermittent flooding.
Participants recommended practical next steps: identify a visionary architect or consultant to produce concept sketches, seek Retail Coach input on entertainment‑retail synergies, evaluate zoning and infrastructure needs, and organize one or more field‑trip meetings to visit comparable venues.
No formal action was taken; the board directed staff to pursue contacts, report back on potential partners and to consider bringing a guest architect or consultant to review site options at a future meeting.
