Project Spotlight: The Montpelier Performing Arts Hub

On a quiet hilltop just minutes from downtown Montpelier lies a bucolic campus green, surrounded by stately brick buildings and historic homes. If it looks like a college campus, it’s because it once was one—in fact, about a half-dozen educational institutions have occupied the site since the 1860s.

In 2023 the most recent occupant, the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA), moved its programs to California following years of decline. When VCFA put its buildings up for sale the following year, Montpelier resident Kianna Bromley jumped at the opportunity to buy one of them: Gary Library.

Kianna has big plans to turn the circa-1934 brick building into a state-of-the-art center for the performing arts – the first of its kind for our state capital. “We were really inspired by the fact that this building has such an incredible history,” she says. “It’s so important that we preserve these spaces that are so dear to us, and we repurpose them for a new life.”

As you can imagine, transforming a 90-year-old library into a performing arts center is no simple task. But the bones of a beautiful performing arts center were already there. On the main floor, a large open space had just the right dimensions for a 120-seat theater. A separate North Wing, accessed from a new outdoor patio and entrance, made for a perfect café during the day and bar and lobby space at night. Downstairs, flexible spaces for classrooms and administrative offices are easily accessible from the rear parking lot via an exterior ramped entrance. A new elevator addition at the back of the building also makes the whole facility ADA accessible.

In addition to programming the space, Freeman French Freeman has supported the project with a complete set of photo-realistic renderings, which are crucial for donor engagement. Connor Contracting is providing construction management and cost estimating services.

The aptly named Montpelier Performing Arts Hub is currently in fundraising. Kianna and her team are busy preparing to launch a six-million-dollar capital campaign to cover construction and operating costs over the next three years. To learn more about the project or get involved, visit their website at mpa-hub.org.