Giving the Arts More Room to Grow

Cultural groups throughout the region are lining up for a new kind of casting call, hoping to be chosen by Arlington County to play a leading part in the county's transformation from a suburban bedroom community to an artistic mecca.

Arlington County recently finalized a deal with a Rosslyn developer that will allow it to offer the former Newseum rent-free for 10 years, presenting arts organizations with the prospect of getting a world-class performance space.

Many groups have expressed interest. The prestigious Corcoran Gallery of Art in the District has sought the county's permission to use the 45,000-square-foot space for exhibits and educational programs, and two innovative theater troupes are among the local groups vying for a shot at the property as well.

The theater groups see the Newseum space, a former exhibit hall and news museum, as an economic lifeline. Both organizations are located in temporary quarters, and they need new homes. Officials from both groups say the former Newseum, whose location near the Rosslyn Metro station offers easy access for performers and theater-goers, is very appealing.

The Clark Street facility in Crystal City that serves as home for the Washington Shakespeare Company is slated for redevelopment in the near future. Monument Realty, which owns the site, is finalizing plans for the former warehouse. When the arrangements are complete, the theater will be given nine months to leave.

"We're kind of in limbo," said Christopher Henley, artistic director of the Washington Shakespeare Company. "This would be the perfect next step for us."

In addition, he said, "We'd bring people to Arlington, going to the restaurants, and doing all the economic things an arts complex does to a neighborhood. By all measures, it is an economic boon."

Meanwhile, the Shirlington black-box theater occupied by the children's production arm of the Classika-Synetic theaters has been told that its days at that location are numbered. Its landlord, Federal Realty Investment Trust, has shifted the group to a month-to-month lease in hopes of securing a more lucrative tenant. The Newseum space looks good to that group, too.

"We're definitely considering it as an option for us," said Yulia Kriskovets, Synetic's business director.

Officials at the Corcoran declined to comment, and the museum has not submitted a formal proposal. But county officials confirmed the museum's interest, although it is not clear how the Corcoran would use the Newseum facility. The museum would expand to 1101 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington, not relocate its main operations, which are near the White House, about two miles away.

Karen Vasquez, a spokeswoman for Arlington Economic Development, indicated that county officials would consider a Corcoran facility the kind of "world-class destination" they are seeking for the site.

On the other hand, Vasquez said, giving various groups shared access to the space would turn it into a kind of multipurpose arts center.