Lone Tree Cultural Arts Foundation

The Capital Campaign for the Lone Tree Arts Center

The Lone Tree Cultural Arts Foundation has begun the Capital Campaign for the Lone Tree Arts Center to raise funds for extraordinary building finishes and amenities to maximize the immediate impact of the Arts Center. Additionally, the Capital Campaign will provide sustaining support for programming in the Center's early seasons, allowing the Arts Center to position itself as a leading regional attraction. Please consider making a financial gift to the Lone Tree Cultural Arts Foundation. To learn more about this philanthropic opportunity, please contact Camapign Cabinet Chair Rick Egitto or call 303.908.0706. For questions regarding the Lone Tree Cultural Arts Foundation, please contact Foundation Chair Art Bouton or call 720.880.2499.

Mission Statement

The Lone Tree Cultural Arts Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization, was formed to ensure that the Lone Tree Arts Center meets the current and future needs of the community. The Foundation is currently focused on enhancing the Lone Tree Arts Center by providing fundraising and other community leadership.

History

The Arts Center represents a decade of work by community members. In the early 2000s, the Lone Tree City Council (Mayor Jack O'Boyle, and Council Members Kevin Maiman, Jane Staebell, Gary Uhlmann, and Elton Winters) convened an exploratory committee to consider whether an arts center was feasible. The Exploratory Committee was comprised of Mayor O'Boyle and Council Members Staebell and Winters; Arts Commissioners Al Sharp and Pat Braden; Lone Tree Symphony Orchestra's Jacinda Bouton and Joan Pauls; Colorado Stage Company's Bill and Connie Cawlfield; and Lone Tree City Manager Jack Hidahl. The Exploratory Committee discussed community needs, looked at conceptual designs from different architectural firms, and hired Webb Management to do a Cultural Center Feasibility Analysis. Webb Management presented findings in 2003 that confirmed that building and sustaining an Arts Center was feasible. In the years that followed, City Council continued to budget funds to advance Arts Center planning. City staff and Arts Commissioners visited national venues to research varied aspects of the building, including theatre size, seating, acoustics, lighting, parking, programming, and community support. In May 2008, Lone Tree voters approved a bond issue for $18.5 million to construct the Arts Center. Coventry Development, the developers responsible for Lone Tree's RidgeGate planned community, generously donated the 5 acres building site.

In March of 2009, City Council hired Economic Research Associates (ERA) to make a final recommendation about the configuration of the Arts Center. ERA reported that a 500 seat performance space, along with an ancillary space for meetings and smaller performances as well as an aditional outdoor venue, would provide optimum facilities for maximum usage. That year, one hundred architectural firms responded to the City of Lone Tree's Request for Quote to build the Arts Center. From a pool of six finalists, the City chose Westlake, Reed, Leskosky, a firm with extensive arts buildings to its credit, to design the Arts Center facility. General Contractor G.E. Johnson was hired to oversee the construction process

Once the basics were secured, community leaders then began working to raise funds for extraordinary finishes and aspects of the Arts Center that were outside of the building construction budget. Anchoring these efforts is the Lone Tree Cultural Arts Foundation (LTCAF). The LTCAF was formed in July 2007 and was granted 501(c)3 status by the IRS on February 21, 2008. After initial consultation with The Kellogg Organization, a nationally-known capital campaign consulting firm, the Foundation in 2010 formed the Campaign Cabinet, a group of local business and community leaders dedicated to raising the approximately $2 million needed to provide the final touches that will make a wonderful Arts Center extraordinary. Together, the Board and Cabinet of the LTCAF are confident that the generous support of individuals, corporations, and foundations will help realize the dream of an Arts Center that's been over a decade in the making.