Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Emeryville council backs phased approach to Art Center, asks staff to pilot nonprofit operations before building
Summary
Council members directed staff to pursue a phased implementation of the long‑running Art Center project that prioritizes forming a nonprofit operating entity and pilot programming first; consultants estimated initial startup support of $350,000–$550,000 per year and staff noted $5.4M of CIP funds could be reprogrammed for early operating costs.
Chadwick Smalley, Emeryville’s community development director, asked the City Council to support a new phased approach for the city’s Art Center project that begins with establishing an operating nonprofit and pilot programming rather than immediately building a permanent facility.
Smalley told the council that consulting work from Artist Love & Jean Johnstone Consulting and a fundraising feasibility study by CCS both reached the same conclusion: the city should build organization and programming capacity first, then use lessons from that phase to design and fund any permanent building. He said prior efforts — including a land disposition and development agreement terminated in 2022 — showed the city lacks a ready operating entity to fill and sustain a facility.
The consultants recommended a…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
