Posted: 6/20/07
Final Draft - by Cliff Buchan
City has potential arts center in old theater building
As the city of Forest Lake continues to plan and dream for what its future may entail, one necessary focus has been the downtown business district. And rightfully so.
The downtown is where Forest Lake started. Positive steps have been taken to revive the downtown and more work is needed. A viable downtown can add identity to a city. Without one, a community will be no more than strip malls and scattered development that will leave one begging for identity.
The Forest Lake Economic Development Authority last month unleashed its most recent visioning process as an attempt to begin the planning for the city. The downtown will again play a major part in whatever plan finally emerges.
A separate editorial today points to the importance of the arts and what other communities are doing to help launch art centers and the progress of arts funding by the legislature in St. Paul. The main point of the commentary written by Don Heinzman is that local governments often hold the key in addressing their own needs.
Forest Lake has perhaps an opportunity to do likewise if the planning and fortitude to invest public dollars can be found. And there is a golden opportunity sitting downtown today.
That opportunity is the Forest Theater Building.
It was once a key gathering place for community residents. It was a place area residents came for film entertainment, but also for stage productions presented by community groups. For years it was a key component in the recreational offerings in Forest Lake.
Some segments of the downtown have been redeveloped in recent years. One key area that remains is the 100 block section of N. Lake Street where the theater building sits.
Redevelopment ideas have been kicked around in the past. The Forest Laker has been remodeled and expanded but other properties remain pretty much as is. The theater building, owned by Jackie and Dwayne Fladland, is one of them.
Could this not be a centerpiece for an EDA redevelopment effort that would produce an arts center for Forest Lake? There have been some private negotiations with the Fladlands in past years for a purchase and redevelopment, but never an effort by the city and the EDA to acquire the property and develop it as a city facility
As the city moves ahead with its next phase or plan for redevelopment, this idea might be worth a look. There are many positives and the possibilities are almost endless.
A redeveloped Forest Theater building could be a new home for the local summer theater group, Masquers. Having a theater to call its own would open many doors for additional productions, classes and art opportunities.
The building could also be used for film nights, guest speakers, art exhibits, art demonstrations, musical presentations and dance productions. While the building might be too small to house major attractions like The Glenn Miller Orchestra, it could house other performances throughout the year.
There may also be space to house a local museum, something that was first called out as a community need during the 1993 Centennial celebration, but is still missing.
A recent conversation with Jack Lannon, the last administrator at the old Forest Lake hospital, pointed out that need again. Lannon has in his possession a number of valuable historical items that document that hospital’s history.
But short of a museum, where can they be preserved? In Forest Lake right now, there is nothing that can serve as a museum.
The idea of some form of performing arts center has not been lost on local planners. For a time it was part of the community center planning and could still be built into those plans at some point in the future.
With the EDA having authority to utilize tax-increment financing and to assist in redevelopment projects, the theater building might well serve as a viable project.
As Forest Lake continues to grow, it needs to cement some form of identity. When the “tin man” water tower was taken down last fall, the city lost its main icon that largely served as its identity.
Few of the old downtown buildings remain. Of the four buildings that were captured in local artist Randy Peterson’s official Centennial drawing, three are no more. The depot, the old feed mill building and the Ahlm School are long gone.
The one building that still stands? The theater building.
If Forest Lake is serious about redeveloping and taking steps to revitalize the downtown, this project might be the one to give the downtown the focal point that it needs.
If Forest Lake is serious about preserving some of its past and capturing an identity that people can recognize, this might be a project that is worth a look. The opportunity won’t last forever and it behooves local leaders to explore the options before all opportunity is lost.
Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605