Alpine City Council to decide fate of proposed performing arts center

ALPINE — It's up to the City Council to decide if a performing arts center will become a reality in this northern Utah County city.

The council will vote Tuesday on the final site plan for the proposed 3.8-acre, state-of-the-art theater in Main Street Village.

The nonprofit Alpine Arts Council has been working the city on theater plans since November. Original designs called for a five-story building that was short on parking, but residents and city leaders balked.

Modifications have since been made. Construction crews will excavate into the ground to build the theater, allowing for a 44-foot building. The outdoor amphitheater has been axed to make room for adequate parking.

The Planning Commission recommended that the council approve the performing arts center with a list of 14 conditions the theater must meet, including limiting seating to 603 and replacing an older street frontage sidewalk with a 5-foot-wide path.

A rare feat, funding for the theater has almost all been committed by various philanthropists. The arts council has pledged to not ask for any public funds to build the theater.

The group currently performs at Timberline Middle School, where rent is high and the arts council cannot store any of their sets or costumes.

"We need a home," said Chris Culver, president of the Alpine Arts Council.

— Amelia Nielson-Stowell