Pendleton Art Center project experiences delays

Jim Verdin, the founder of the center, said late last week that he plans to have the building open during TV Middletown’s Home for the Holidays Santa Parade at 5 p.m. that day.

“I’m still working with the city on the final documents. They should be settled probably (this) week,” Verdin said.

During the parade, the buidling at 7 N. Broad St. would have its “doors open with sort of the spaces put in so people can look at the size of the spaces. We’ll be in the building showing people the plans and how it’s going,” Verdin said.

Verdin previously said he planned to have the building open in November, but that the permit process with the city took longer than he thought it would.

“There’s not an issue. There’s just a lot of people involved,” he said.

Little renovation has been performed on the building, though the city has remediated some mold and abestos issues, said Mike Robinette, Middletown economic development director.

“Things are still moving forward. I think ideally we would have liked to be open by Thanksgiving but that was never a firm date,” Robinette said.

Gathering estimates for the renovations needed for the future art center, which is in the old Armco building, also have taken longer than expected. However, Robinette said the work should be able to be completed within the limitations of the funds being provided for the project.

The city is providing a $200,000 loan to the Pendletown Art Center for interior improvements through the money comes from an Urban Development Action Grant. That loan would be forgivable after 10 years of PAC operation. The city also will spend about $250,000 on repairs using money from the Downtown Improvement Fund.

While these details were approved by City Council in August, the final agreement between Verdin and the city will be signed today, Robinette said.

Also complicating matters was the project to adorn the exterior of the building with 200 car hoods, in a sculpture that will be designed to catch nationwide attention and tie into the city’s roots as a steel town. Finalizing those plans also has stalled the opening, which will now take place early in 2011, but there’s no targeted date. Ken Cohen of Cohen Brothers Inc., a Middletown-based scrap processing company, is procuring the hoods, Verdin said,

“It just takes time. Everybody’s still enthusiastic about doing it and everybody wants to do it right ... I don’t know that we’ll have a date until we get settled with the city,” said Verdin.

Staff Writer Jessica Heffner contributed to this report.

Gathering estimates for the renovations needed for the future art center, which is in the old Armco building, also have taken longer than expected. However, Robinette said the work should be able to be completed within the limitations of the funds being provided for the project.