ARCH, the Alliance for a Regional Concert Hall, is a citizens’ organization incorporated by the State of North Carolina and designated as a non-profit entity by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

The organization has one goal: to build an extraordinary, strategically located, superbly designed, multi-use performing arts facility to serve Wilmington and its region. This facility must be large enough to attract artists and performances we are not now able to bring to this area because of the size of our available venues.

PREPARATIONS TOWARD THAT GOAL

ASSESSMENT OF NEED AND BUSINESS PLAN

Webb Management Services, located in New York City, has provided an assessment of our area's current cultural resources and the demographic factors of our population (e.g., income and academic attainment levels, age and ethnic segmentations, etc) concluding that what is missing in and needed by our region is a large, centrally located facility to augment the smaller ones now available.

Further, this study’s business plan, predicated on the facility’s completion and operation, concludes that our demographic area can support it. If we build it, we can afford to operate it.

CONCEPTUAL PLANS

Westlake, Reed, Leskosky, an architectural firm with offices in Cleveland, Washington, and Phoenix, has designed an interior space which, in its audience chamber, seats 1,500 in three levels of fixed seats with boxes on both upper levels. The stage - 100 feet wide 45 feet deep – and lobby areas can accommodate the larger productions we cannot bring to our region now.

The architects will soon begin work on an exterior design to take full advantage of site advantages and aesthetic expectations.

SITE

Negotiations are on-going for acquisition of the site.