What’s in the future for the Cultural Center?

COURTESY PHOTO

The Cultural Center of Charlotte County is beyond resuscitation — but not, it seems, reincarnation.

The abandoned center received a reprieve during the last week of March, as the Charlotte County Commission voted to spend $750,000 for planning to rebuild the facility.

In its halcyon days, growth seemed unlimited at the Cultural Center, located at the corner of Gertrude and Aaron streets in Port Charlotte. Conceived by public-spirited citizens and General Development Corp., it once enjoyed a national reputation.

The center was a landmark in Port Charlotte’s geography and a magnet of community culture. A citizens’ group has petitioned Charlotte County government to rebuild it.

Diners enjoyed cheap, subsidized meals. They often ate al fresco in the Garden of Eatin’, a picnic area that featured a vivid mural of the biblical first garden. The mural was lost during a major renovation of the center during the 1990s.

Across the green from the dining area was the theater, with state-of-the-art sound and appurtenances. Behind the many classroom doors residents took courses in everything from tap dancing and teaching to carpentry and garden cultivation. A nearby wing held a popular second hand shop, and Centennial Hall always affordable entertainment. For the big events, the center boasted a dining hall and a series of meeting rooms. And Port Charlotte’s first library had a wing of its own.

The Port Charlotte Cultural Center, later called the Cultural Center of Charlotte County, will soon be just a memory. It’s slated for demolition, where another, new campus will rise in its stead. COURTESY PHOTO

But the sprawling center, once called “The House that Friendship Built,” no longer has any patrons. Since 2021, the center has been closed, abandoned, a victim of Hurricane Ian, the COVID pandemic and overwhelmed management.

“The Cultural Center has always been a bright star in the center of Charlotte County,” said Joan Fischer, a retired nurse, former candidate for county commissioner and longtime Democratic Party activist. Fischer and the late Dan Rodriguez organized a petition drive for the county to rebuild or replace the center.

A biblically inspired mural adorns The Garden of Eatin’ picnic area, where diners could eat their meals al fresco. The mural was lost during a major renovation in the 1990s.

But it’s not really fair to blame Charlotte County for the center’s failure. Despite investing millions in the center, county government didn’t run it. That was the job of the Cultural Center board — which went belly up in 2021, a few weeks after making an emergency funding request to county government.

Rise and fall

In 1960, General Development, the company that built and ran Port Charlotte, helped a group of retired educators develop coursework that became known as Port Charlotte University. The organizers teamed up with a retired librarian to begin what became the Port Charlotte Library. Despite Hurricane Donna later that same year, PCU thrived, offering degrees based on coursework such as painting, English, and other academic subjects and crafts.

As momentum and enthusiasm built, the core group of educators formed the nonprofit Port Charlotte Adult Education Association Inc. The classes were later moved to Sunny Dell Plaza, at Easy Street and U.S. 41 north.

The Cultural Center of Charlotte County was more than just a place to hang out, take classes or see shows; it housed the Port Charlotte Library, held meeting rooms, and was a place to dine, as well as to shop for second hand clothes, wares and books.

By partnering with General Development, which agreed to donate land, the Adult Education Association began a massive fundraising campaign. Things went down to the wire when, at the end of the development period, an anonymous donor put the pot over the top.

That spirit of buy-in was a driving force, part of the DNA that motivated volunteers and supporters. For example, a 1973 news story noted that the center’s funding entailed “the Charlotte County Commission, $446,000 of a $2,400,000 bond issue for county improvements, secured by the county’s share of state racetrack funds; General Development Corporation, donation of eight acres of land worth $200,000, and public contributions and earnings of Center public contributions and earnings of Center volunteers, totaling $371,000.”

Now the vision is a stark reality of abandoned buildings, empty walkways, and a hole in the center of Port Charlotte’s cultural heart.

The Charlotte Players, once a mainstay at the center’s theater, have moved on. Wood turners, teachers, tap-dancers and movie buffs have all found other venues or reduced their social lives in the absence of the center.

In November 2021, the center’s board released a statement saying goodbye.

“With the loss of income, we had to reduce our staff to a skeleton crew and cut our expenses to continue to operate,” the statement read. “We believed conditions would soon improve and income and activities would soon return. Unfortunately, that has not been the case.”

The center had closed on March 20, 2020, in the teeth of the pandemic, and reopened on June 1, 2020 — but with 80% fewer patrons and fewer income-producing activities. The board submitted a last-minute plea to the county for a $300,000 bailout.

A broken dream

The proposed bailout failed, leading the board to close the center.

In a news release, county officials explained the reason for their decision:

“… the Cultural Center of Charlotte County requested $300,000 from Charlotte County to fund operations. The county requested financial information about the center’s operations and finances to justify the request and the center’s plans to improve its operations and finances.

“While the county did receive some information, including that the center was reportedly losing more than $30,000 per month, the information did not include any business plans for improving the Center’s financial position other than raising fees for the seniors who use the center. Ultimately, the County Commission on Oct. 26 determined it could not grant the center’s request.”

Once more, Charlotte County was left holding the Cultural Center bag.

The first time was on a much larger scale, when General Development went bankrupt in 1990. County government inherited or purchased a lot of infrastructure, including maintaining the operation of the Cultural Center.

The nonprofit Cultural Center board rented the facility from the county for $1 per year under a 40-year lease signed in 2000. The county invested $6,436,000 in a renovation and expansion of the facility with a 1% sales tax revenue and maintained the roof and HVAC systems.

The Cultural Center funded its operations through user fees, facility rentals and donations.

When the board failed, so did the center.

That was an ignominious ending made ironic by the fact that the original learning center was built because residents pooled their money and raised $30,000 to make the dream possible.

A date for the demolition of the existing Cultural Center has not been set, but construction of the new building is estimated to begin within the next two years.

With that in mind, the new and improved Cultural Center is not slated to open until sometime in 2028. ¦

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