For more than 30 years, the Perkins Center for the Arts has brought not only cultural arts to the Moorestown community, but also Moorestown history. To help preserve the history of Perkins and to continue to deliver a unique artistic experience, Perkins recently received a $34,500 grant to develop a historic preservation plan.
“We feel that as proper stewards of these historic buildings, where we present all of these programs to the community, it’s our responsibility to make sure that we move forward in the right direction and to make sure that the history is honored,” Perkins Associate Director Diane Felcyn said.
According to Felcyn, the grant will allow Perkins to work with a historical preservation specialist to create a preservation plan. But Perkins must raise more money to hire the specialist.
Felcyn said the grant would fund two-thirds of the cost. In the long run, the plans will help Perkins maintain the building in an efficient manner.
She said before Perkins could move forward with any type of construction or preservation, a plan must be presented to the New Jersey Historic Trust, which she said would help fund future construction projects.
In 1976, Perkins Center was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Felcyn said since the building is historic, any type of construction needs to be done in a certain way.
“Because we are on a historic register, there’s things that you have to kind of consider before moving forward with any type of construction project,” she said.
She said the specialist would be able to determine where handicap accessibility could be placed or possibly another bathroom, as well as electrical condition, condition of the floors and more.
Having the plan allows Perkins to think ahead, but Felcyn said she hopes more history would be discovered after the evaluation process.
“I think they will help us identify historic significance. There is research that is involved in this. So, hopefully, we will learn more about the architecture,” she said.
Although a historical preservation specialist has yet to look at Perkins, Felcyn said creating this plan would help the center with not only maintenance costs, but eventually it would aid in general operating costs and possibly allow Perkins to offer more programs.
She said a majority of grant support helps with general operating costs, while individual donations help Perkins “across the board” with operating costs, scholarships, outreach projects and keeping tuition low.
As the building gets older, the cost of upkeep increases. Felcyn said the preservation plan would help Perkins determine how much it would need for future repairs.
“[The plan] will open up more doors for us to find funding to support some facility improvements so we wouldn’t have to tap into the general operating fund to support,” she said. “Just because something is a historic structure doesn’t mean you can’t touch it.”
To learn more about the Perkins Center for the Arts and its programs, visit www.perkinscenter.org.
