Thurden Center seeks to convert Bartram's Warehouse into community hub; asks council to note progress

Amanda Cleary, representing the Thurden Center, told the Ironton City Council on Feb. 27 that the grassroots nonprofit purchased Bartram’s Warehouse and plans to redevelop it into a community center with arts education space, an industrial kitchen and a small-business incubator.

Cleary said the Thurden Center, founded in February 2019, runs arts and community programs and partners with local businesses. In 2024 the group provided programming and meal service at the Ironton Senior Center at Park Avenue Apartments and said it served 2,381 meals through partnerships with local vendors and a collaborative kitchen. The senior center operates Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Cleary said; currently participants pay $4 per meal while the nonprofit pursues grants to eliminate that fee.

Cleary described 2024 arts programs including 40 community art events, a riverfront mural and the Summer Solstice Music and Arts Festival. For 2025 the organization plans to continue and expand arts programming (including pottery and stained glass), host the third annual Trash Bash cleanup on April 26 and expand senior services.

The Bartram’s Warehouse purchase, Cleary said, provides space for an expanded senior center, art classrooms, remote work stations and an industrial kitchen, but extensive renovations are needed. Cleary said immediate needs are a new roof and gutters; an entrance design must be revised because of the location of a main sewer or water line that runs close to the building. She said the building’s entrance feature would be removable to allow utility maintenance access if needed.

Cleary offered partnership materials and said Thurden Center receives funds through federal, state and local grants, foundations, partnerships and donations. She asked the council to consider partnership opportunities and offered to answer questions.