The Doris Bardon Community Cultural Center is looking for a new place to call home.
The center, currently located at 716 N. Main St., has offered art classes and cultural events for the past two years, but the current location is not ideal, said Mallory O’Connor, a board member of the Arts Association of Alachua County. She said it doesn’t offer enough parking for the artists or visitors hoping to attend events or classes.
O’Connor said the center’s current lease expires Oct. 6, and she said board members are looking for a low-cost downtown facility, ideally before the lease is up.
O’Connor wrote in an email to City Commissioner Lauren Poe that similar not-for-profit organizations in other cities have been able to rent city or county spaces for as little as a $1 per year.
In the email, O’Connor wrote that she and Poe had discussed a possible long-term location in the South Main Street area as a part of a “revitalization effort.”
In the meantime, Norma Homan, the organization’s treasurer, said some groups like improv theater group Mad About the Doris have relocated temporarily.
“We will use different venues for a short time,” Homan said. “It will just mean that we do business a little differently for a short while.”
A version of this story ran on page 8 on 9/13/2013 under the headline "The Doris community center seeks to relocate, asks city for help"
