FITTON CENTER IMPACT
$12 million in economic activity in 2013-2014
$4 million in construction activity and jobs
$3 million to be held at the Hamilton Community Foundation
$5 million in program-driven economic activity when programs are fully operational
Source: Fitton Center for Creative Arts
The arts play a big role in the city nicknamed “The City of Sculpture,” which includes helping to set the stage in economic development.
City Council in mid-December expanded the boundaries of the city's "Riverfront Arts District" to include the RiversEdge Park and Amphitheater, which opened earlier this year. City Manager Joshua Smith said being able to "better defining our arts identity helps improve our competitive edge as a community."
“Creating an arts foundation helps in defining a sense of place for our residents and attracting new and visiting populations, which helps our community grow stronger,” Smith said. “It also helps to contribute to the development of a skilled workforce, which makes Hamilton attractive as potential employers sift through site location options.”
The Fitton Center for Creative and Performing Arts is Hamilton’s primary champion for the arts, and has been the city’s official advisor for cultural arts policies, programs and initiatives since 1991 when the management of the center was named the Hamilton-Fairfield Arts Council.
City Council updated its legislation Dec. 18 to change the name of the official arts advisor from the Hamilton-Fairfield Arts Council to the Fitton Center for Creative Arts. Mayor Pat Moeller calls the Fitton Center a “very important entity in our city” and updating the legislation allows for the arts organization to potentially secure more grants for arts projects on behalf of the city.
“Since we opened, there has been a little bit of an increasing focus on the arts, to create more vibrancy in our city, in our downtown,” said Fitton Center Executive Director Rick H. Jones.
The center is celebrating its 20th anniversary and is in the midst of a $7 million capital improvement campaign to include major upgrades to its theater and energy efficiency improvements.
The arts district was established in May 2008, which Jones said provides the core of downtown on both sides of the Great Miami River a marketing tool for the community. Eventually, Jones said, he sees the ability to have incentives offered to arts-related businesses to move into the district.
“It just makes sense to do (include RiversEdge),” Moeller said. “It’s a tip of the hat to those who put together the amphitheater, reflecting and acknowledging that they’ve done by having it be a part of our arts district.”
The work to attract businesses to relocate within the district not only improves economic development opportunities, but also works at “improving the quality of life for residents,” Jones said.
“It’s not like we’re looking at the arts as a silver bullet … but the current City Council, current mayor, current city manager has looked at the arts as a tool,” he said.
Some major arts-related projects that have finished or are underway in the city’s downtown include:
- Artspace Lofts: a $10.2 million project that will create 42 artist live/work units at 220-224 High St., plus 3,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space for arts groups and arts-related businesses. Construction is to start in early 2014 and take a year to complete.
- School of the Arts: a $2.5 million renovation project of the former Journal-News building into a cultural hub for Butler Tech School of the Arts, Miami Valley Ballet Theatre and the Hamilton City Schools ABLE program. The project finished in mid-2013.
- RiversEdge Park and Amphitheater: the first phase of the project, which used $1.08 million in grant funding, developed a park and amphitheater along the east bank of the Great Miami River between downtown and German Village. It opened this past May. This first phase also included extending the Great Miami Rover Recreational Trail, intersection improvements, public restrooms, and installing pieces of art.
“It’s kind of a slow building process that they’ve begun to recognize the arts can be a significant player in the overall improvement process (of the city),” Jones said.
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