Published: Friday, Nov. 06, 2009 / Updated: Monday, Nov. 09, 2009 07:00 PM
Downtown theater project studied
FORT MILL --
A Georgia consulting firm is studying whether or not the Town of Fort Mill should pour money into rehabbing a downtown building that could boast a multi-use theater.
Town leaders will shell out about $25,000 for Tomlinson-Graham Group of Georgia to evaluate the plan.
“The Town will learn whether they (Tomlinson-Graham Group) believe the movie theater rehabilitation project is feasible,” Assistant Town Manager Joseph M. Cronin said. “Will the people use it? Will we get a good return on our investment? Do we think we will achieve our objective on bringing people to the downtown area?”
Town decision makers will consider those questions and more in concert with the study, which got underway last Tuesday, Cronin said.
“There's a chance they can come back and say this isn't a feasible project,” he said. “We will be driven by the results of this study and take that into consideration as to whether or not it's in the best interest of the town to proceed.”
The effort is projected to cost the town thousands of dollars. That's why moving forward with the study was the right path to follow, Mayor Danny Funderburk said.
“When you're talking about making a financial investment, then talking to consulting experts is the intelligent thing to do,” Funderburk said.
At issue is a fairly new town project aimed at converting the approximate 5,000 square feet building into a structure where locals and tourists alike can take in a movie, play or musical performance or perhaps eye some art crafted by local talent and others.
“We're waiting on the results of the study,” Cronin said. “Before spending public dollars, we want to make sure that it's a feasible project. We want to know if it's something that will make money, break even or lose money before making a final decision.”
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