Performance center organizers: Big new donation in the works

Organizers have a line on a donor that will make half of the down payment necessary to take the keys to the old Copeland Lumber building and begin converting it into a performing arts center.

Carson Valley Arts Council President Brian Fitzgerald said the organization's free concerts and presentations may have paid off with a single large donor.

"We're very close to securing a source for the donation," he said. "We're really excited that we're closer to providing a desperately needed service here."

Fitzgerald said the donation is not locked in yet, but should it come through, the council would begin a major campaign to raise the rest of the $350,000 downpayment on the $1.85 million Minden building.

"This opens a lot of doors for us," he said. "Once we own this building we can start getting grants."

With the downpayment, the council is looking at a $1.5 million, 10-year interest-only loan with payments of more than $100,000 a year. There are two rentals on the property, which Fitzgerald said will deal with about 60 percent of the payment.

Both Coffee on Main's lease and the space formerly leased by Down on the Farm are part of the property sale.

Income from the leases will leave organizers to make the $40,000-$50,000 annual payments through other means.

At the same time, more than $2 million in retrofitting will have to be done on the building to make it useable as a performance center.

"We're very, very pleased with the way this project has been progressing," Fitzgerald said March 29. "Each new concert or presentation has been a step toward showing we're for real."

The building and its lot are owned by Minden resident Mike Gilbert.

Argenta Trio free concert for the Carson Valley Arts Council.

CVIC Hall in Minden

6 p.m. Saturday

Argenta Trio at the CVIC Hall in Minden on Saturday. Featuring UNR music professors Phillip Ruder on violin, John Lenz on cello and James Winn on piano, the classical ensemble will perform works by Beethoven and Brahms. The reception begins at 6 p.m., followed by live music at 7 p.m., and dessert at 9 p.m.