FARMINGTON – The appeals board approved a side setback variance for a proposed arts center building attached to the Alumni Theater tonight, by a vote of 4 to 2, finding that a variance was necessary due to unique circumstances of the property.
The University of Maine at Farmington needed the variance in order to move forward with the proposed Emery Community Art Center; an L-shaped building which would be constructed around the north and western walls of the theater building. The front of the building would consist chiefly of a glass lobby, built up directly in front of the current Academy Street entrance. That lobby would serve both the original theater building as well as a new, 100-seat theater in the Emery building.
Architect Scott Slarsky, who works with DesignLAB Architects, said that the building is designed to protect the facade of the Alumni Theater. To this end, Slarsky and the design team have the eastern end of the proposed Emery building extending 5 feet and 9 inches beyond the eastern wall of the Alumni Hall building.
“This is really supposed to be a showcase for this existing building,” Slarsky said.
That puts the northeastern corner of the Emery building slightly less than 5 feet away from the Farmington Public Library’s property line. In Farmington, buildings must have a minimum setback of 10 feet between new construction and property lines. UMF’s engineers argued that the building’s purpose is to create a central location dedicated to the arts, while protecting the facade of the Alumni building. Therefore, they contend, the lobby must be in front of the Emery building and near the property line.
After a brief presentation by Gorrill-Palmer Consulting Engineers’ Senior Engineer Lawrence Bastian, the board asked several questions of Slarsky prior to reaching their decision. Several people associated with the library and university were in attendance.
All members of the board asked several questions, many of them pertaining to necessity of having the eastern wall of the Emery building extend so far beyond the Alumni wall.
“Why can’t you make that right wall line up with the Alumni Theater?” Board Member Alvin DaCosta asked. “This is really about the way it looks.”
“The aesthetics,” Board Chair Galen Dalrymple agreed.
“Yes, the aesthetics,” DaCosta said. “More to do with aesthetics than any of these other reasons.”
Slarsky and some members of the board pointed out that any modification to the front of the Alumni Theater building would require a variance, as the building is already less than 10 feet from the public library’s property line.
Others questioned about why the entrance, lobby and other parts of the facility which appear in front of the Alumni Theater, such as a small art gallery, couldn’t be moved to the west. Slarsky responded by pointing to the problems with having an entrance which doesn’t lead directly to the Alumni Theater. To utilize the Emery building’s lobby, theater-goers would need to go inside the new facility, then exit to the north and reenter the Alumni building.
“It’s not inconvenience,” Slarsky said. “It’s dysfunction.”
All of the board members had concerns and questions with different parts of UMF’s application for a variance. Specifically, some board members had difficulty with one possible reason for a variance, which allows the suspension of setbacks if the property owner “cannot yield a reasonable return” without the variance. Although UMF’s application said that the growth of its arts center could not occur without the setback, and therefore not generate a reasonable return, some board members were skeptical.
“A piece of property needs to be rendered nearly invaluable for this to come into play,” Board Member Jeff Mitchell.
Eventually, DaCosta made a motion to approve the variance due to the “unique circumstances of the property.” The board approved that motion by a vote of 4 to 2, with Mitchell and Board Member Robert Vallette voting against the granting of the variance.
Admin for Craig Schuler Ph.D. on March 18th, 2009 at 10:09 pm edit:
Have they lost their minds–the plan for the ‘Performing Arts Center’ is an abomination!-only 100 seats -a huge lobby-huh??? why bother!! Is maladroit a sufficient description? This ‘glass menagerie’ would only be suitable for just that –animals. It is ugly and woefully inadequate for just about any kind of act I can think of. Somebody please stop this before it even gets started.
Admin for Author : Gerydd Cook
I like the design. Flat roofs are kind of impractical in Maine; for example, the dining hall’s ceiling always looks like it’s caving in and buckets have to be placed to catch water leaking from the several feet of melting snow. With that said, I like the flat roofs of UMF. They looked “modern” when Mallett was built a century ago, they looked “modern” when the library went up a few decades later, and now they look, well, modern.
Protecting the historic Alumni Theater is commendable. However, standards for new additions to existing historic buildings include that the addition be proportionate and in harmony with the original building. These plans overshadow the Alumni Theater and do not harmonize with the 2 National Register of Historic Buildings the flank either side (Merrill Hall and Cutler Memorial Library).
The drop-off, pick-up area, now the parking lot will increase traffic on Academy St. as well as decrease parking spaces. Traffic flow at the Academy-High and Middle St. corner already require drivers to be very careful.
I find it hard to believe all the negative comments coming from people who have not seen the plans or been part of the process. These architects have a track record of being very sensitive to surrounding buildings and landscape. It is impossible to tell what the finished building will look like from a single rough sketch. It is not an all glass building. It is a building that will be a beautiful and active addition to the cultural and performing arts life of Farmington. There will soon be an open house so all with questions can come and see why those of us involved are so excited about the project. Don’t have a closed mind on the Emery Community Arts Center.