The feasibility study on Kiawah Island, regarding the plausibility of an arts and cultural center somewhere on the island, shows the project to be, well, quite feasible, according to Webb Management Services, the firm heading up the research.
Due to the findings from phase one, which were presented to Kiawah Island Town Council on April 4, they will now head into phase two to further study the likelihood that an arts and cultural center could work on the island.
Phase 1, which began in December 2022, was deemed the “needs assessment” phase and focused on identifying the audience, what kinds of artists might utilize the arts facility, the demand and what the goals for the facility would be.
Duncan Webb, the consultant with Webb Management, presented the findings from phase one saying that from the needs assessment they were basically looking at “what, if anything, makes sense for this community.”
He said, “I will say it is a crazy time to be doing this due to the upheaval in the arts industry since the pandemic and coming out of it, but there are several trends, and there is bad news and good news.”
The bad news, he announced, is that they are worried about audiences, particularly younger audiences for traditional arts like opera, ballet and classical music. There are also concerns about the fragility of arts organizations since the pandemic and fundraising.
Webb said that the good news is that they have been optimistic about the rapid growth of arts participation as opposed to passive participation, meaning the number of people joining a theater company or singing in a choir as opposed to sitting in an audience. “Secondly, there has been tremendous growth of arts education in schools and with arts organizations aggressively going out into the world with education and outreach to impact communities. It is also interesting to see what arts can do for a community. It can drive tourism and improve overall public health.”
Over the last few months, Webb Management conducted numerous interviews with stakeholders and members of the community. They were able to get a sense of the demand, and they concluded that current facilities for the arts are inadequate. Webb said that there was a general concern for the location and parking at the current arts facilities.
“The message we got is that this needs to respond to the broader community. What can the citizens get on board with and support here?”
He said they looked at audience traits such as size and demographics and the visitors that come to Kiawah. Webb noted that currently, about 80% of ticket buyers come from within 60 miles, and a larger market would be even better.
“This is a unique community. We have some seasonal residents too. We have noticed that the people who visit here want to do more than one thing. They want to shop, visit a gallery, et cetera, and that’s attractive for an arts center.”
Webb also compared Kiawah to different markets that currently have an arts center. He said they looked at Highlands in North Carolina, Martha’s Vineyard, Hilton Head, The Hamptons, and Vail and Beaver Creek in Colorado.
Webb compared and contrasted Kiawah to these markets based on location, water access, presence of community associations, higher property values, high percentage of seasonal homes and phased development.
All of these communities have indoor performing facilities, with a main facility having a capacity of 300 to 400 seats, and many of the performance spaces had an outdoor component used seasonally.
Phase one also concluded that Kiawah would have opportunities to build collaborative relationships with outside agencies. Specific to Kiawah, that includes local school districts, the new senior living facility and the new medical facility. They also reached out to local arts organizations to see a level of demand for renting such a facility, and Webb noted that there was indeed demand. “It would not be free and we were clear on that,” he said. “I definitely see a reasonable level of demand from them because KICA also provided us with the numbers of potential renters that they turn away.”
Webb Management also noted a gap in the local market for high quality performance spaces for all capacities and a gap in facilities seating in the 250 to 500 range in the regional market.
The presentation concluded with Webb summing up their recommendation. He said that they recommend a main performance space of about 300 to 400 seats, a multipurpose space with about 100 to 150 seats and “other” spaces like an outdoor performance space and maybe some classrooms.
“We will now move this work to a ‘space program’ and describe rooms that would be in this building. We’ll also gross it up because we have a footprint to think about. And we’ll put cost estimates around that. We will also be writing a business plan. In other words, we’ll say here is how you program them, operate and financially sustain them and this is how working with the local arts community comes to be tangible and real. We’ll talk about rent, and we’ll come up with a theoretical schedule for the first year,” he said.
Robert Long with Theater Consultants Collaborative will assist with the physical aspect of the building and provided a “taste” of the physical aspect in Webb’s presentation.
Council member Russell Berner voiced that he loved the idea of this project, but he admits that he is worried about the cost. “So many say that we have so much money, but we really don’t,” he said. “We have $30 million in surplus, which is a lot, but if we have one hurricane come through, that money is gone, and then how do we pay for this? I’d love to have this facility. I just need to wrap my head around how.”
Council member Bradley Belt pointed out that average attendance is about 216 at most of the arts’ events, but that some had 500 in attendance. He also said that the town has supported the whole arts program, but that he now sees that there will be more to it than that because “there is demand.” When referring to other venues in the country, he added, “It seems like renting out the art spaces is a big source of revenue.”
Council member Michael Heidingsfelder said that he thought the Town should plant the seed but not harvest it. His hope is for the arts council to bring this to life and help to bring in the donations to finance the building and orchestrate the opportunities.
The mayor ended the presentation by asking the audience if there was anyone there that thought they should not pursue phase two of this process. No one spoke up. One member of the audience said that they still just aren’t convinced they will get community support.
Webb Management Services is a management consulting practice focused on the development, renovation and operation of cultural facilities. Its clients are governments, arts organizations, developers and educators. It conducts feasibility studies, business plans, strategic plans and district plans. Now in its 26th year, its starting on its 500th project.