BELLEFONTE — The Centre County Board of Commissioners received an update on The Stage at Talleyrand Park during this week’s meeting.
The Stage at Talleyrand is an open-air performing arts center planned for the annex section at the west end of the Bellefonte park.
Rick Jacobs spoke on behalf of The Stage at Talleyrand Committee and talked at length about the progress of the project.
“We’ve been at this for about three years now. … It’s been an incredible journey with a great committee,” Jacobs said. “I’ve bet we’ve met with 200 different people to talk about the stage, maybe more. Some individually and some in groups to get their input and to get their support.”
Jacobs said that the committee has asked for input from just about everyone involved — architects, community members, political leaders, business owners, even musicians.
“We’ve asked for input. A lot have asked, ‘What’s it going to be used for?’ It’s going to be used to extend what goes on at the gazebo. The gazebo is a beautiful part of the park … but it’s too small and the musicians who play there says the sound goes everywhere but where you want it to go,” Jacobs said.
He also said that The Stage at Talleyrand will provide better seating for those attending events in the park.
In May, the committee announced the awarding of a $1 million grant toward the design and construction of a state-of-the-art venue for performing arts in the park. The grant was provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
Jacobs is hopeful that The Stage at Talleyrand Committee will be able to continue to build support for a venue that will enhance the cultural and economic landscape of the region. The open-air performing arts stage will provide a space for concerts, plays, dance performances and other cultural events that will attract visitors from near and far.
Jacobs talked about the noise factor from the roadways that surround the park.
“If you’ve been to any of the Concerts in the Park, we have two roads that impact noise — Water Street coming down and High Street going up. This will cut off at least one of those streets. It won’t end the road noise, but it will substantially change it. The way the stage is planned to be structured, it will be projecting out away from the road. We see lots of improvement,” Jacobs said.
He talked about the parking concerns as well.
“Parking is going to be an issue, but no more than it is right now. If we have bigger concerts — we’re hoping by the time that happens (in) 2025 that we will have more parking alternatives. We’re working on that. … This is a big issue with multiple ways of solving it,” Jacobs noted.
Jacobs said The Stage at Talleyrand Committee has raised more than $100,000 in private donations from more than 50 donors.
“We’re just getting started,” Jacobs said.
The budget for the project is $2.4 million. The committee recently received a $10,000 contribution from the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau.
There are plenty of options available to fund The Stage at Talleyrand, Jacobs said.
“We have lots of plans on how to raise money that are both public and privately sourced,” Jacobs said.
Overall, he said, the project is progressing nicely.
“We’re in a good position. We’ve got half our budget in our bank account,” he said.
Groundbreaking, he said, is slated for Oct. 1, 2024.
“This is an exciting project,” said Commissioner Amber Concepcion. “At the (Happy Valley) Adventure Bureau, when we’re evaluating projects like this … we are also thinking about creating an ecosystem for visitation. It’s not just necessarily does this put heads in beds in a hotel room next week. It’s what kind of ecosystem we’re creating. Bellefonte is really an important part of that ecosystem.”
Chair Mark Higgins said the BOC is “very excited about the project and all of the other projects happening in downtown Bellefonte and greater Bellefonte as well.”
The Centre County Board of Commissioners will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 1, at the Willowbank Building. The meeting is open to the public and will be televised live by C-NET.
