Delray Beach will take a couple more months to decide how to satisfy the needs of the Arts Garage and that of a personal-injury law firm that wants to expand.
The City Commission voted Tuesday night to table discussion about what will happen to the building now occupied by the Arts Garage until April 16. In Solomon-like fashion, Mayor Tom Carney suggested dividing the 10,000-square-foot space between the Arts Garage and Kanner & Pintaluga, the law firm that has submitted a $2.6 million bid to buy the building from the city.
At stake is the future of the current location of the Arts Garage, run by the Creative City Collaborative and the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency. Arts Garage Executive Director Alyona Ushe has cultivated an enthusiastic following for the Garage and its programs since it opened 18 months ago.
The building, a parking garage on the corner of Northeast First Street and Northeast Second Avenue, is owned by the city and is up for sale. Kanner & Pintaluga promises to add 115 jobs to the city with the expansion. Its bid has been matched by an equivalent $2.6 million from real estate developer and Arts Garage board member Robert Schmier, whose bid includes a 10-year lease for the Arts Garage.
News of the law firm’s bid raised the possibility that the Arts Garage would be evicted from its home, and the venue launched a public support campaign to save it. The Garage said 1,718 petitions protesting the move were signed online, and 660 petitions were filled out on paper.
More than 200 supporters, including some who came from Miami, met at the Garage on Tuesday night before converging on City Hall.
Attorney Howard Kanner, speaking after the meeting, was happy with the outcome.
“The mayor made a wise decision in allowing both of us to thrive here in Delray Beach. I moved our offices here one year ago and it’s been a good investment,” Kanner said. “We like being in the downtown area and having access to the lunch spots. It’s conducive to business.”
The CRA founded the Arts Garage, and also recruited Kanner & Pintaluga.
“The CRA has done everything to support the Arts Garage,” said its executive director, Diane Colonna, who added that she hopes the new City Commission that will be seated after March elections will consider all options.
“The CRA welcomed us one year ago and now we’re being shot down,” Kanner said. “We’d love to keep Delray as our home.”
So would Ushe and the staff of the Arts Garage.
“The CRA has transformed Delray into the city that it is today,” Ushe said, and to Carney’s comment that the building battle “seems to be the fault of the CRA,” she said “the commission threw the CRA under the bus.”
Yet Ushe said she was grateful for the commission’s decision Tuesday night.
“We thank the commission for exploring ways to keep Arts Garage where it is and for deciding to table their vote until April in search for better alternatives,” she said. “We are optimistic that eventually a decision will be made that will ultimately benefit not only Arts Garage but also the entire city.”
Performers who have appeared on Arts Garage programs, including jazz violinist Federico Britos, singer Chloe Dolandis, Matthew Farmer and pianist Jace Vek, came to the meeting to show their support.
“This is a test to see whether society and art can coexist with business interests in a growing town,” Vek said. “The sustainability and growth of the Arts Garage depends upon the support of the whole community. We’ve planted and nurtured and cultivated this artistic venue and community. Why stop watering now?”