The Waldron Recommendation Task Force suggests the City of Bloomington keep the Waldron Arts Center as an arts space for at least the next five years as it begins to look at options for a new arts facility.
Mayor John Hamilton commissioned the task force after Ivy Tech announced last summer it would return the century-old building to the city. The group had been meeting since November 2020 to determine the best use for the building going forward and issued its report yesterday.
READ MORE: Ivy Tech Transfers Waldron Art Center Back To City
Miah Michaelsen, deputy director of the Indiana Arts Commission, co-chaired the task force. She says keeping the Waldron an arts center for the foreseeable future would help one of the industries hardest hit by the pandemic.
“It gives a little bit more time for organizations to plan and think about possible a path forward,” Michaelsen said.
The report recommends creating a “Cultural Improvement Corporation” that would oversee and streamline operations for the Waldron and Buskirk-Chumley Theater.
The Waldron, built in 1915, is an historic building in and of itself, acting as City Hall and housing the fire and police departments before becoming an arts center in the ’90s.
Michaelsen says it has added significance in the history of Bloomington’s art spaces because of the grassroots organizing involved in converting the building to an arts center. But considering it was built for city government purposes 106 years ago, it’s not necessarily the most optimal place for things like live performances.
“Arts are kind of what makes Bloomington, Bloomington in large part,” Michaelsen said. “And maybe it's time to think about a facility that allows those artists and arts organizations to present and perform in a facility that's more worthy of their talents.”
The task force also recommends bringing in a third party to determine logistics for building a new arts facility near downtown. The future facility could be paid for in part by funds from selling the Waldron, which has been appraised at $2.8 million.
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