The construction of the planned Visual Arts Center, facilitated by an anonymous $50-million donation announced June 12, may take a step forward next week when the Hanover planning board considers the project at its next meeting on July 7. An unresolved dispute over the status of utilities at the site, however, could delay the decision.
The project will include the reconfiguration of the Spaulding Auditorium loading dock and the demolition of Clement Hall in addition to the Center's construction, according to Associate Provost Mary Gorman.
According to the timeline for construction of the Center, Clement Hall will be closed after the Fall 2009 term and classes will be moved to 4 Currier Street for Winter term. The College will start demolition on Clement Hall in Winter 2010 and will likely begin construction in Spring 2010, according to Gorman.
The Hanover planning board will approve or reject the project depending on how the Center will sit on the site and interact with the site or surrounding properties, according to Town Manager Julia Griffin.
Griffin said that the biggest point of contention is whether the College will help fund a project to move the utility lines of Lebanon Street underground. The project would cost the College approximately $500,000 a figure determined by the percentage of frontage along the street belonging to the Visual Arts Center, according to Griffin. College officials argue that Dartmouth should not have to finance the utilities project because the College's properties in that area use utilities from Wheelock and Crosby Streets, Griffin said.
The College and the Town of Hanover are both in strategic positions going into the July 7 meeting, Griffin said. The town may approve the project with conditions such as the utility lines project, but the College can also appeal the conditions.
"The planning board can delay on approving it, undergrounding being one of those issues where there's still some disagreement about what role the College can play," Griffin said.
Response to the proposed Center has been mixed among Hanover residents, according to several community members.
Owner of International DVD and Poster Ken Gorlin said he believes the Center will have a positive impact on businesses in the area by increasing foot traffic.
"The more there is to do on our street, the better; the more people pass my store," he said.
Suzanne Jones, director of education at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, said the Center will be helpful in spreading the arts in town.
Several people who visit her store have never heard of the Hood Museum of Art, she said, also noting it will be nice to have the Center and the Hood Museum right across the street.
Chris Richardson, who works in the League's gallery, said she was disappointed the College did not intend to build a more environmentally friendly building.
"So much money, so many resources," Richardson said. "That should be a real priority in this day and age."
Griffin said the design of the property has caused some disapproval, as it does not reflect the typical style of New England architecture. Unlike other buildings on campus, the design does not incorporate red bricks, but instead is primarily made of glass.
"The one comment I've heard that's sort of typical of the [local] feeling is if the College likes this design so much, why don't you build it around the Green?'" she said. "But of course the reaction would be no, no, no' because it doesn't match the New England architecture around the Green. And the response, of course, is if it's not good enough for the Green, why is it good enough for the entrance to downtown Hanover?"
The Visual Arts Center was an important component of President Jim Wright's Campaign for the Dartmouth Experience, and faculty response has been positive, Gorman said.
"[The faculty] feel that to have a donor recognize the importance of the arts in this way is very satisfying and exciting for them and exciting for what it says about the arts at Dartmouth," she said.
Gorman added that some people hope the Center will "energize the arts at Dartmouth" by creating an "arts precinct" consisting of Spaulding Auditorium, the Hood Museum, the Hopkins Center for the Arts and the new Visual Arts Center.
Debate over the design of the building is magnified because of the Center's location, Griffin said.
"Right now, what you see is [Facilities Operation and Management] and the steam plant, which isn't very appealing," she said. "Now you'll see FO&M, the steam plant and a big building that doesn't look like it belongs in a traditional New England college town."
Griffin emphasized that the site plan review by the planning board does not include an "architectural site design" review and the project cannot be rejected simply because of the design.
