Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe has been awarded $500,000 in support of its Heart & Soul capital campaign. The funding came from the Department of State’s 2019-2020 Cultural Facilities Program – which provides matching grants to support capital projects for cultural facilities in Florida – part of the recently signed state budget.
The Heart & Soul campaign has provided the funds to renovate the Binz Building on WBTT’s Orange Avenue campus; the three-story structure is now known as the Education & Outreach Building, housing the administrative offices, box office, rooms for education programs, a library, rehearsal spaces, and a 6,000-square-foot rooftop garden terrace event space for patrons and other community organizations. The parking lot and grounds have enjoyed upgrades as well.
WBTT will soon have a larger theater with comfortable, permanent seating, a larger, more elegant lobby area, upgrades to lighting and sound, a 60-seat second stage, soundproof walls, larger restrooms, and professional backstage areas. Architect for the campus project is C. Alan Anderson Architect, P.A.; Construction Management firm is Willis Smith Construction.
The project must be executed within the grant period of July 1, 2019 – June 1, 2021; the campus renovations at WBTT are scheduled to be completed by December 2019. Its theater season begins with a holiday production at the Sarasota Opera House in December and the four-show mainstage season begins in January 2020 with Caroline, Or Change.
The Heart & Soul capital campaign stands at $7.7 million (of the $8 million goal); the organization is currently working to close the campaign, which also includes an endowment to support WBTT into the future. Contact Julie Leach for the remaining gifting opportunities available: 941-366-1505, ext. 103.
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