PMAC explores options for a new facility

When its five-year lease runs out next September, the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center will move to a new home. Exactly where that new home will be, however, is still up in the air. PMAC has been exploring a number of potential sites, and the Wentworth Elementary School on Granite Street currently tops the list. But the arts education center is still far away from finding a new home.

“We’ve been in discussion with the city of Portsmouth regarding the former Wentworth Elementary School,” said Russ Grazier, PMAC’s founder and executive director. “Originally, our initial proposal was approved by the Portsmouth School Board, but when the School Board released that building to the city, we started the discussion again with the city.”
Since the school board gave up ownership of the building, the timeline for PMAC’s possible move has been extended. Grazier estimates that, if PMAC does decide to move into the Wentworth School, it will not be until sometime in late 2008 or early 2009.

PMAC would then share the 28,000-square-foot facility with Exchange City, an economics education program for middle and high school students.

PMAC’s current facility on Albany Street is 3,700 square feet. Exchange City already uses about 40 percent of the Wentworth School. PMAC would take over the remaining 60 percent, but they would do so in phases. “We would restore part and operate out of it while we were restoring another part,” Grazier said.

The end of PMAC’s lease comes at a time when the organization is already experiencing the need for a new facility. “We’ve outgrown our building. Students are now being put on waiting lists. We need to increase the size of our space,” Grazier said. The Wentworth School is “a wonderful location. The facility is designed for classroom instruction, which is one of the areas we want to expand on.”

With more room, PMAC would also be able to add a 75-seat recital hall, “something that doesn’t exist in town,” Grazier said. They would also be able to expand their visual arts offerings to include ceramics and photography rooms. Also, space would be set aside so that multiple ensembles could rehearse simultaneously.  

PMAC previously considered the Lafayette School on Middle Street as a new home, but a feasibility study funded by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation determined that the costs of restoring the vacant structure were too high, according to Grazier. It would have cost PMAC $3 million to move into the Lafayette School, compared to $700,000 for a move into the Wentworth School. Plus, at 10,000 square feet, the Lafayette School is much smaller than the Wentworth space.

The Wentworth School was built in 1941 to accommodate an overflow of students whose parents had come to Portsmouth to work at the shipyard.

“It’s an old building that hasn’t been used to full capacity for years. There is a lot of updating that has to be done. It’s imperative to us to make it the safest possible building for children,” Grazier said.

“Our mission is to build community through the arts. Expanding to a building like the Wentworth or another would allow us to fulfill that mission. Wentworth is the top school on our radar, but we’re looking for other options that would work best for the community and the school. We’re in the preliminary stages of meeting behind the scenes with city staff workers. If we make the decision that this is something we really want to do, then we will move forward with the city council. It’s a significant process, so it takes time, but the city is very supportive of PMAC and its mission,” he added.