Beck Center announced its decision to remain in Lakewood last week, cooling speculation that the venerable West Side arts institution would be reborn as an Abercrombie & Fitch at Crocker Park.
The announcement was heralded at a press conference as the best news for Lakewood since McCarthy’s invented dollar beers. But lost amid the back-patting and donuts was any indication of where the new center will go — a pivotal detail, given that available space in Lakewood is measured in microns — or who will pick up the tab, which could exceed $20 million.
Beck Center says only that it’s weighing options, and that funding strategies have yet to be discussed. This would seem a significant omission, coming from an institution that’s run a deficit 8 of the past 10 years.
But other than that, everything’s swell.
“I’m confident with this partnership that we can make this happen,” says board Chairman Frederick Unger, referring to the support of Lakewood and its schools, neither of which have a nickel to offer.
Lakewood Mayor Tom George said the city looks forward to being a “conduit” for Beck Center’s fund-raising, a riddle that led some to question whether a ballot issue could be on the way. “I’d have to say it’s kind of an unlikely scenario,” George says.
Breathe easy for the moment, smokers of Cuyahoga County. — Erich Burnett
This article appears in Oct 18-24, 2006.