Didn’t see this one coming.
Not in the parking lot in front of the Judge E. Maurice Braswell Cumberland County Courthouse.
But that’s where, we learned Monday, the Crown Event Center will be built, replacing the old and outdated Crown Theatre and Arena on U.S. Business 301 that is scheduled for closure in November 2025.
“Downtown was the right place,” Glenn Adams, chairman of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners, was saying after he and Commissioners Toni Stewart, Jimmy Keefe, Jeannette Council, Larry Lancaster, Charles Evans and Michael Boose gave unanimous approval for the multipurpose events center to be built slap-dab in the front parking lot of the courthouse. “A lot of places have them in their downtown. Downtown will be energized. I hope it will bring hotels and restaurants.”
The commissioners approved $82.5 million on April 4 for construction of the multipurpose center and $2.5 million for McDonough Bolyard Peck Inc., aka MBP, of Fairfax, Virginia, to represent the county in hiring a general contractor, selecting an architectural design team and assisting with site procurement.
Potential sites considered, County Manager Amy Cannon said Monday, were the Interstate 295 Outer Loop; the Crown Complex site, where the old theater and arena have served the community since 1968; and multiple downtown locations.
In the end, it came down to Monday’s reveal that the 69,000- to 89,000-square-foot center will go up in the courthouse parking lot, where the structure with 2,500 to 3,000 seats can host everything from conventions, banquets, meetings and live performances to include Broadway shows, dance performances and concerts.
“I’m excited to see everything moving forward,” says Seth Benalt, general manager at the Crown Complex, where the theater and arena are no longer compliant with the Americans WIth Disabilities Act. “It’s been a lot of hard work.”
The structure will be bordered by Dick Street, Gillespie Street, East Russell Street and Otis F. Jones Parkway, and all the gratis front courthouse parking is going away, with the Crown Event Center consuming most of the footprint.
Parking concerns
You couldn’t help but wonder about parking. After all, finding a place to park for anything related to the courthouse can be a search-and-seek when you have business there, from courtroom trials to jury duty to paying your property taxes, etc.
“Rest assured, parking will be provided,” Adams says. “We had major conversations about displaced parking. There’s a parking deck just down the street” on Franklin Street, about two blocks from where the multipurpose center will be.
There will be parking, Adams says, behind the courthouse and behind the old courthouse on Gillespie Street. And the county leases some parking space from nearby First Presbyterian Church.
“In looking at programming for the new multipurpose event center, one consideration will be timing in that many events will likely take place at night and on weekends when additional parking options, such as the lot behind the courthouse, will be available,” says Brian Haney, an assistant county manager. “Parking and accessibility are going to be an important part of design as this project moves forward, and it was something that was discussed during the architect interviews.”
Commissioner Jimmy Keefe was part of the Crown Event Center Committee that included Adams and committee Chairwoman Jeannette Council.
“There were many discussions and concerns throughout the assessment on the displacement of free parking and what we could do to mitigate any loss,” Keefe says. “There was an in-depth analysis from staff, MBP and downtown consultants on options for us to reduce the impact that we implemented. The loss of parking in the parking lot of the proposed site will be absorbed through the leased parking lot across Person Street and the available capacity of the local parking decks.”
Epilogue
Well, it is what it is.
The Durham Performing Arts Center does well in downtown Durham. The Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Greensboro replaced a theater adjacent to the Greensboro Coliseum.
“We believe this will be a transformative project, not only for downtown Fayetteville but for all of Cumberland County as a local and regional asset that is accessible to all and that enhances and elevates our community as a premier destination for entertainment, events and gatherings,” Glenn Adams says. “Downtown was the right place.”
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
