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Madera arts board weighs reuse of Lincoln School and smaller, multiuse theater to cut $60M price tag
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Summary
Board members, architects and city staff discussed repurposing the old Lincoln School and shifting from a 480‑seat, sloped‑floor theater to a smaller, flat‑floor multiuse design to lower costs, with staff asked to convene agencies to study funding and ownership options.
The Madera County Arts Authority discussed options this month to scale down a previously planned $60 million downtown arts center by reusing parts of the old Lincoln School and adopting a more flexible theater design, the board heard.
The board’s chair said the original 500‑seat civic center design—estimated several years ago at roughly $60 million—“seems a little high for us,” and that the group is examining lower‑cost approaches, co‑use partnerships and philanthropy. “We have about $5,000,000 in the bank already,” the chair said, noting an initial $3,000,000 gift helped start the effort.
Sean Yemenjian, senior associate architect with Paul Hodgkin Architects, urged the board to consider a flat‑floor, telescoping‑seat model used at Fresno Pacific’s Warkentin Center. “It’s a Swiss‑army knife of theatres,” Yemenjian said. He said a flat‑floor design allows spaces to be used daily for banquets, rehearsals, community recreation and classes, rather than being idle most of the month.
Yemenjian described a hybrid approach that would repurpose the two surviving gabled wings of the old Lincoln School (which he estimated at about 18,000 square feet combined) for galleries, studios and small rehearsal rooms, then add a narrower new build in the middle as a later phase. “If we do that, we can reuse existing square footage and save on cost,” he told the board.
City Manager Arnold Rodriguez briefed the group on a separate city‑owned parcel at Yosemite and 5th as another possible site, saying the city purchased that property years ago to protect downtown character and is assembling “several million dollars” in grant funding—some with deadlines. Rodriguez cautioned the board about first‑floor government uses and emphasized the need for evening/weekend businesses to activate downtown.
Board members and public commentators flagged two near‑term technical next steps: a hazardous‑materials assessment of the old school building and a staff‑convened meeting among city, county and school district representatives to align facility needs and funding avenues. Yemenjian said the site visit showed no structural barrier to repurposing the wings but stressed that hazmat testing is needed before any phase begins.
Funding options discussed included a nonprofit developer model to avoid prevailing‑wage requirements, naming rights and seeking local developer partners; board members also reviewed how a past community college bond had supported a Reedley performing‑arts project but questioned whether similar bond capacity exists today.
The board directed staff to convene relevant agency representatives and report back with a funding and ownership strategy rather than making an immediate commitment to build. “It’s going to take a lot of different people involved,” Rodriguez said, adding the city will “try to be a good partner” at the table.
Votes at a glance: At the meeting’s start the board approved the agenda and minutes for Jan. 26 by voice vote and later approved the treasurer’s report and invoices; each motion was carried by voice vote with no recorded roll‑call tally.
Next steps: staff to arrange an interagency strategy meeting, commission a hazmat assessment of the old Lincoln School, and return to the board with financing, ownership and phasing recommendations.
