Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
Wareham Hall on the GMCF Community Hour Show Episode - 257
We trace the rebirth of a historic downtown theater into Wareham Hall, a flexible, high-tech home for performance, learning, and community. Blade Mages lays out the $40M plan, the acoustic and rigging innovations, and how donors and partners make the vision real.
• renaming the opera house to a community hall
• origins of the project and early ambitions
• fundraising strategy and historic tax credits
• cost drivers, square footage, and value
• fully motorized rigging and show control
• adjustable room acoustics for amplified and acoustic shows
• object-oriented mixing and spatial sound
• construction timeline and the marquee coming down
• nonprofit governance and broad donor base
• limited public funds and streetscape changes
• community impact and vision for 2027
Follow us online, Facebook or Instagram. We will be putting updates up just about every day
Wearhamhall.org has a lot of detailed information where you can find out more about that effort
Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. In this episode, we feature a recently broadcast segment of the GMTF Community Hour, as heard on News Radio KMAN. We are back with the GMTF Community Hour here on News Radio KMAN. Hey, thanks for joining us here this morning. Blade Mages. Man, I've known you for a long time, dude. It has been number 19 when I first met you.
SPEAKER_00:I think that's right. That was uh at the uh the Vista in Is that what it was? Yeah, Vista meetings, talking about weddings and video stuff.
SPEAKER_01:And you're just a simple videographer back in those days. I was just uh looking with a camera.
SPEAKER_00:Uh not much has changed.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, no, you're still a kid with a camera. That's probably the fun part. But but you know, the impact that you have made here, you got such great vision and passion for this community, and we commend you for that. Thank you uh greatly for doing that. And and now you've got um gosh, this is kind of like a hallmark project for you, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00:This is uh quite the privilege to get uh to get to say that I work on a uh an icon in this community, uh, especially as uh you know, somewhat sort of my first quote unquote development project. Uh it's a it's a doozy. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Wareham Hall. You know, it's known as the Wareham Opera House. And and and why Wareham Hall?
SPEAKER_00:Well, it's been known as a lot of things. Uh it actually goes way back before just the Opera House. So when it was first built, believe it or not, it was called the Coliseum. Uh, and then it was Moore's Opera House, and then it was Wareham's Opera House, and then it was the electric, and then it was the Wareham Theater. And then back in the 80s, they said, well, let's go back to calling it Wareham Opera House. Uh why Wareham Hall? Uh a couple of reasons. First, we wanted to, we wanted to make our mark on um, you know, the the symbolism of the change. Uh, but two, um, you know, the the concept of an opera house sometimes might be a little bit um it might preclude certain people from thinking it might have something of interest for them, right? And so uh the idea of being a hall, a place that's uh, you know, multifaceted in terms of the the types of performances it can uh host, the types of events that could take place there. Uh really I like the idea that a hall is is is a space for the community. Uh and that's really what what we're trying to create.
SPEAKER_01:What was it about this that intrigued you and gave you this spark to I mean, you've been working on this for what, a couple of years, three years? This will be the we're we're in the fifth year, but we're gonna when you and I first started talking about this when everybody first started talking about it, it's just like this seems so grandiose, you know, and everybody's thinking, oh, new paint job, you know, maybe some new carpet. That was what we were thinking in the beginning, too. Yeah. So the And then you got inspired by some discoveries you made in your search through the building.
SPEAKER_00:We we did. So it it really, I mean, you know, my connection to this building goes back all the way to 2008 or nine. Uh one of my first clients here in Manhattan was uh the previous owner of the building. And uh his nephew and I uh became quite close and we both love movies and we both love music, and uh, and it was that passion, uh, but we were a bunch of you know bachelors that didn't know anything, but we had a lot of energy and a lot of passion, and we said, Oh, this needs to be something. And and uh it never did because uh we didn't know how to pull that off. But um, so that was kind of part one. Uh part two was that ever since I was, you know, three feet tall, uh, I have had this connection to live music and performance that uh it's just inexplicable for me. Um and then the third was uh, you know, through my work with the agency uh that I'd started, I've been very privileged to make a lot of wonderful connections, to meet a lot of the philanthropists that make Manhattan the city we know it to be. And so I kind of felt like I had the right three ingredients to maybe give this a shot. So in 2021, we got pretty serious about seeing if the owner would sell, about seeing if the donors would support it, and about, you know, seeing what this thing could become. But yeah, in the beginning, we thought, oh, you know, six, seven million bucks for all new HVAC plumbing, paint job, we'll clean this thing up. And here we are breaking ground on an over$40 million project. That's huge.
SPEAKER_01:It's very huge, very, very huge. Is that just like I mean, when you when you when you now talk about$40 billion, is that just like uh give you the heat to be able to do that?
SPEAKER_00:It's it's not even real. Yeah. It's not even real. It's it's uh, you know, it's uh when you consider, you know, a lot of a lot of folks kind of question the budget overall. Hey, well, how'd we how'd it get so expensive? A big part of it was the addition of the the space to the west. We doubled our square footage. Um so when when we look at the overall actual square foot, we're almost a 40,000 square foot building. And so it's about it's about a thousand bucks a square foot, which 10 years ago would sound insane, but post-COVID, uh, you know, construction prices are absolutely crazy. And and so really, if you look at the value we're getting out of this place, it's it's really, I mean, in the grand scheme of things, it's a pretty good deal. I heard a story of a of a of a bank, a retail bank that got built not too long ago, and it was$750 a square foot. So when you consider that we're building for$1,000 a square foot a state of the art, you're you're not gonna know what to do with how advanced some of this technology is. It's so, so cool. The fact that we're getting that for, you know, a modest 25% more than what this bank was built for. I think that I think that says a lot about the design team, a lot about BHS and their ability to help us, you know, maximize our donors' dollars, maximize our historic tax credits to make this project possible.
SPEAKER_01:You know, we talk about this, and you know, leading into this, I was just in Vegas, as you know, and I went to go see Wizard of Oz at the sphere, which that's a whole nother conversation. It's amazing if you get the chance to go, which you are, I understand. I am you're gonna absolutely be blown away. What we have here at the Museum of Art and Light, they have something similar in Vegas called the Art Museum, very technically advanced and just absolutely mind-blowing. So, what will the Worm Hall, upon its completion, be able to provide?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, the the main so we will be a fully professional stage, first and foremost. So um when you think of when you think of a Broadway theater, when you think of a stage with rigging, much much like McCain with rigging and curtains and lights, you know, we will have all of that stuff. One one key difference that that kind of puts us in our own uh category is that our rigging system, uh, that'll be uh fully motorized. And so if you need to fly in pieces of scenery or curtains or drapes or lighting effects, uh that stuff can all be programmed. That can all be done in a way that's actually a lot safer than traditional rigging systems, but it's also in a way that's really, really advanced. So from a learning standpoint, we're gonna be able to put, you know, students uh, you know, in charge of of pieces of equipment that that you know exist out in in much bigger, more advanced theaters. So that's kind of the the rigging side is is probably first. But you have to do that in order to keep up with the performers and the production. You know, there are there are some productions where their entire show and the rigging that goes with it, it's actually just uh synced to a time code. And so they can you can hit start, and then that whole system is just programmed, it knows when to move up and move down and close curtains and open curtains. Um it's it's pretty pretty impressive. Um the second part, the one that I'm probably more more uh uh giddy, I get a little I get a little giddy when I think about this. So when we uh when we think about what we're trying to do with this space, and and you know sound, you're a you're a you're a sound guy. So um much like the room that we're in right now, if you're gonna have amplified performance, you need a space that's somewhat dead, right? So if you you not a lot of echo, not a lot of uh reverberation. Because when you charge that room up with energy through sound waves, it just bounces all over the place. And so you need to absorb that so that you can actually hear with clarity what's coming from the speakers. However, if you want to host an acoustic performance, no amplification, something like a symphony, uh, you know, a soloist, piano, concerto, whatever that might be, uh, those types of performances, you know, those originated at a time when amplification didn't exist. And so did the theater, right? The theater was built, the version of it we know today really has bones of 1910. They didn't have amplification then that was used in that context. So it it's very reverberant today. So what we're gonna be doing when finished is blending these two spaces. And and what you'll be able to do is as a performer, you will be able to effectively dial in the reverb of the room, which has awesome, awesome uh uh implications for for education. For if you want to know what it feels like to perform at Carnegie Hall, we'll be able to dial that setting in, you know, in that building. And and that performer won't need a microphone. You won't see a microphone that won't exist, but all of a sudden, that entire room will have this fullness and richness. And then you can flip a switch and be ready for uh a rock band that night or uh uh a rave, you know, with with subwoofers shaking everybody's guts. I mean, it's it's uh it'll be very, very versatile. Um the other thing on that sound piece is that, you know, I think you and I probably both grew up with analog mixing and and and left right and maybe a center channel, right? Right. The system in the future will will utilize a technology called object-oriented mixing. And so you will be able to place just with your ears, not your eyes, where on stage sounds are coming from, not just left to right, but depth. You'll be able to hear that that piano is behind that guitar, that tuba is behind that string sound. Almost a three stereoscopic experience that you get to share with everybody in that room. It's phenomenal.
SPEAKER_01:You know, they dabbled with hot doorphonic albums back in the 70s.
SPEAKER_00:I don't even know what that means. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:That was a whole different uh yeah, it was short-lived. But uh, I mean, uh so much technology. Yeah. That uh and and and as a guy who's a little bit of a tech geek, you know, I just yeah, I'm looking forward to that. So so the other day you didn't have a groundbreaking, you had a stage breaking, which Vernon and I were talking about. That that's just that that's clever.
SPEAKER_00:We called it a groundbreaking, but we kept it a surprise. We we built out a a small little false wall in front of the stage and had our golden golden sledgehammers, and uh and we everybody counted down from 10 and at zero, uh confetti popped and rained down from above as we smashed the stage. And of course, Starship, we built this city on rock and roll, had to play in the background, and uh it was a wonderful event. It was really well attended. Uh and and yeah, they I was over in the building this morning and BHS is down there tearing apart the bathrooms. It it is underway. What's the time frame? About two years. So um the really things are gonna things are gonna start to really pick up next week. Uh we'll start to see some uh some pretty major signs of progress. The first of which will be the sign is coming off of the building. That's gonna come off, it sounds like maybe Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Really? So once that happens, it'll be probably one of the first things to come off and one of the last to go back on. And so points is gonna look different. It will be, yep.
SPEAKER_01:Um completely such an iconic aspect to downtown.
SPEAKER_00:It uh every photo, every painting, you know, every time we're on ESPN, you can't um you can't not have points with without the the sign.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So two years, and and one of the things, you know, you've got a lot of people that are involved. I know that there were you had what eight, ten people there with sledgehammers, but you had a room full of people that that all have something at stake with the Wear Em All Project. Let's talk a little bit about that, those collaborations.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I mean, first and foremost, our our board, uh, you know, from day one. You are a nonprofit. We are a nonprofit organization, yes. So our our board of directors from day one has been, you know, uh just tremendously involved. This is a pretty hands-on project, as you can imagine, and and they've been there every step of the way. Uh the the lion's share of the folks in that room that night were were donors. Uh we we have a very broad donor base. Uh and we are just now, probably in the last 30 to 45 days, getting into our public fundraising phase. Um, so the the the leadership level donors that stepped up early on to make this project happen, uh, we wouldn't be here without you still have money to raise. We do, we do. Uh, and and included in our uh overall capital campaign goal is is funding for our endowment. And so we're right at about the 90% mark. So we've got we've got 10% to go that we are uh you're gonna start hearing and seeing a lot from us out in the community as it relates to ways that people can get involved at any level. Any public money? Uh the only public money we received would be in in uh, well, let me take that back. Two two forms. One, uh former leftover ARPA money, the American Rescue Plan Act, uh, was with the state of Kansas. We worked with the Department of Commerce and uh uh at the time, Senator Usha Reddy and Representative Carlin, Sidney Carlin, to uh to work on uh basically an appropriation from the state uh Department of Commerce. That money really was four things that were most impacted by COVID. Venues were for were one of them. So we did receive a million dollars from the state of Kansas. Uh ultimately that was technically federal dollars. Uh and then the the other dollars we've received are related to the public infrastructure improvements we're gonna end up making to Points Avenue. So that was to the tune of about$350,000. That was a cash uh will be. We we've not received that from the city. Um basically our restrooms are underneath the sidewalk today. And the city, the city requested that we give that space back. And so, in order to do that, we have to open that whole sidewalk up, build a new structural wall, infill all that, and put all that landscaping, brick, all that stuff back. And so there's some cost sharing happening.
SPEAKER_01:Unfortunately, we're hamstringed by time here too. No worries. What are a couple, two or three of the things you're most looking forward to to Wareham Hall being open in 2027?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. We're uh, you know, I think um this the space for 145 years has been a place for bringing the community together. Whether it's a brand new building or the version of the building we've we've known for the last couple of years doing movie nights, when when that room is full of people, there's something uh there's something magic about it. Yeah. Uh, you know, it you it's hard to it's hard to get mad at your neighbor over their beliefs when when you're all coming together to watch the same movie, to listen to the same concert, to share the same laughs, right? Um so that at the end of the day, regardless of the flash, I think, I think creating a space that's in the heart of our downtown that is designed to keep bringing the community together, I think that's what I'll be most excited for.
SPEAKER_01:And the arts community is growing and you know, you had a part in InsightMHK that helped start the mural uh effort here. And uh, we certainly appreciate all the things that you're doing on behalf of our community and really looking forward to the progress that you're gonna make and regular updates on Whrim Hall.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. We will uh follow us online, Facebook or Instagram. We will be putting updates up uh just about every day.
SPEAKER_01:He's Blade Magis, he's the executive director of Wareham Hall. Wearhamhall.org has a lot of detailed information where you can find out more about that effort. We're gonna take a break, and when we come back, Tyler's gonna be uh stopping in here and we're gonna talk about some things that are happening in the near future here on the GMCF Community Hour on News Radio, KMAN.