Tapp’s Arts Center leaving Main Street. Here’s why
Tapp’s Arts Center is moving from Main Street after eight years.
The non-profit, established in 2011, didn’t receive the grants it needed from the city, county and state to maintain its presence in the cavernous former department store, director Caitlin Bright said.
The center requested $50,000 from the city of Columbia and $30,000 from Richland County but received $7,000 and $3,000, respectively, she said. It also got a “stipend” from the state of South Carolina.
The center had an operating budget of $384,000, with the bulk of the money coming from studio rentals and beer and wine sales at events.
“It cost a lot to run this space,” Bright said. “We needed more cushioning through contributed support.”
The State has reached out to the city and county.
Bright said a search has beginning for a new space.
“We got a flood of inquiries from people who can make a difference,” she said. “The community built this and they will build something else.
Bight said the bulk of the artists who rented the 30 studios at Tapp’s have said they would move with the center.
“We have a beautiful family here,” she said.
The director added that she didn’t know if the center would stay in Columbia or move into Lexington County.
“I have no idea on that,” she said. “It will be the best financial option for a super-under-funded, super-motivated nonprofit.”
Tim Hose, president of Synco Properties of Charlotte, which owns the building, said the company has had a lot of interest in the space from restaurants to retail, to a brewery.
“”It’s pretty much wide open at this point,” he said. “We’re looking for some form of retail-type user that would activate that space and that corner.”
The Tapp’s building was built in 1938 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Its historic lunch counter in the basement and other architectural features have been retained, Hose said.
Bright added she hopes that whatever goes into the building will add to Main Street’s development.
“The owners have been really wonderful and kind and whatever fills this space will be great and bolster the texture of Main Street.”
Hose wished Bright well.
“She is a really creative, energetic, inspiring person and we know she will do a great job in the arts wherever that might be,” he said.
This story was originally published September 20, 2019 at 11:44 AM.