For years, 400 Pine Street in Burlington was a cultural hot spot, drawing crowds for food trucks, live music and art shows. But the historic brick building that once housed ArtsRiot and, briefly, the District VT, has sat empty since the spring. Now, the South End Arts + Business Association is preparing to revive the space.
Later this month the arts organization will launch the SEABA Center as a “creative hub and anchor” for the South End Arts District, according to a press release. SEABA maintained offices in the building from 2009 to 2018, which makes the move something of a homecoming.
SEABA is best known for producing the annual South End Art Hop. For the 33rd edition of the event in September, the organization had been planning to host the STRUT! Fashion Show on Pine Street itself but moved the event into the vacant ArtsRiot building when the opportunity arose. Following the success of that event, SEABA executive director Christy Mitchell sent a proposal to building owner James Unsworth to lease the building year-round.
“I knew this would be a great fit not only for us, but for the mission of SEABA,” Unsworth wrote in a letter to the SEABA board, which has been in conversation with Mitchell and Unsworth all month and approved the final lease last Friday. Mitchell said Unsworth Properties will offer payment flexibility and below-market rent for the first year of the five-year lease in order to ensure its success.
Plans for the nearly 7,000-square-foot space include housing SEABA’s offices, as well as an art gallery, performance venue for music and talks, artist vendor market, food and drink area, and an info center focused on tourism to the South End.
All of that is feasible because the space is divided into three separate, lockable areas, which Mitchell said will allow for regular hours for the gallery, offices and info center, with access to event facilities as needed. Mitchell envisions a full calendar of programming and plans to offer the venue for private event rentals.
SEABA is launching a capital campaign to pay for furnishings and upgrades, with an overall goal of $75,000. The organization aims to raise $25,000 in donations from the general public, with the rest coming from charitable foundations and event revenues.
The first of those events, and the center’s soft opening, will be a Halloween Costume Ball on October 31. Mitchell expects to begin the evening handing out candy to trick-or-treaters on Pine Street and end it with a ticketed celebration for adult audiences, featuring themed costume contests, food and drink, a DJ, and visual projections throughout the space. Proceeds will go toward the purchase of a permanent sound system.
For her part, Mitchell said she is thrilled to steward the organization through this new development and the opportunities it presents. Before this year’s Art Hop, she found the old SEABA sign in storage and put it up to direct visitors to the fashion show. It fit perfectly on the corner of 400 Pine; it hasn’t been taken down since.
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