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Paradise arts leaders ask town to back state cultural-district application
Summary
Paradise Arts District organizers asked Town of Paradise officials to support an application for California Arts Council cultural-district designation and outlined a phased plan to create a walkable downtown arts corridor anchored by existing nonprofits.
Nicole Lajones, administrative director of Paradise Arts Theater and Culture Hub, told the Paradise Town Council that local arts groups are seeking the town’s support to form a Paradise Arts District and apply for state recognition.
Lajones said the group — rebranding Patch as Paradise Arts District (PAD) — will apply for a five-year cultural-district designation from the California Arts Council, with an application due Aug. 7. “Paradise never had a true downtown… Now we have a chance to create one,” she said, describing a district model that would link Theatre on the Ridge, Paradise Arts Center, the Golden Nugget Museum and Norton Buffalo Hall Foundation with retail and restaurants.
The district organizers presented their rationale to the council: arts programming helped the community after the Camp Fire, boosts civic engagement and can generate foot traffic that supports local businesses. “Theatre On The Ridge, if it was relocated downtown, could bring in over $250,000 per year to the walkable downtown,” Lajones said, citing national arts-economy data.
Council members asked how quickly the designation would occur and whether the town should require a sustainability plan before lending support. Lajones replied the state decision will likely come “by the end of the year,” and the group is “working… to develop a sustainability plan” while pursuing near-term activities such as downtown pop-up events.
Resident questions focused on the plan’s impact on commercial development and tax revenues. Council member Woody (surname not specified in the record) asked whether placing nonprofit anchors downtown could limit space for taxable retail. Lajones responded that organizers intend a “porous, inclusive” district that uses existing businesses and pop-up activations to build demand while phasing capital projects.
Lajones said PAD would partner with the Town of Paradise and the Paradise Ridge Chamber of Commerce on the California Arts Council application and on programming; she also posted a donation link and provided an email contact (admin@paradisepatch.org) for follow-up.
The council did not take a formal vote on the presentation. Lajones said short-term goals include applying for the state designation and relocating Theatre on the Ridge downtown as an anchor; longer-term goals include capital campaigns and facilities improvements.
The organizers plan to begin with low-cost activations and use existing downtown assets — including the train park and murals — to demonstrate demand while they develop a funding and sustainability plan.
