Using CPA funds to create a cultural magnet in town

Six years + $700,000 + thousands of hours of community sweat equity = the Cultural Center of Cape Cod.

Don’t forget to add vision, love, dedication and a dash of the Quixotic.

The metamorphosis of the old Bass River Savings Bank into a Capewide magnet for the arts represents not only a unique sense of community, but also savvy business acumen. The center’s executive director, Bob Nash, rejected original architectural designs as too costly and developed a far more economical game plan. Along with a 15-member board of directors and more than 50 volunteers, he reached out to businesses, foundations and Yarmouth voters, relying on a vocabulary that emphasized investment over charity.

The tipping point was approval by Town Meeting to use $400,000 of Community Preservation Act funds to complete the project at 307 Old Main Street in South Yarmouth.

“An anonymous donor turned the building over to a board of trustees in 2000,” Nash explained. But that could have proven an albatross rather than unique opportunity.

“We never would have gotten this done so quickly if it weren’t for [Nash],” said Marion Broidrick, president of the center’s board of directors. In fact, the CPA money was approved last July and the center opened its doors in February.

Art and photography are exhibited in the center’s Board Room, Blue Room and President’s Office. The bank’s walk-in vault also is a gallery. A Great Hall, formerly the bank’s main business area, seats up to 200 and also is lined with art. It boasts restored Palladian windows, a chandelier and Ionic columns, with a compass rose emblazoned in the terrazzo floor.

The facility will be used for lectures, movies, concerts, but Nash also envisions businesses and organizations renting the premises for retreats, seminars and networking events.

Looking to the future, a temporary Cultural Center “Founding Sponsor” program is being phased out and replaced by a permanent membership program as the key source for sustaining the building and its programs.