to pay.
“I think that's a very modest invest-
ment for the return,” he said.
Plans shown in Soenen's office at
PARC, the former Central Middle
School at 650 Church St., show a per-
forming arts center to seat 800, with
room for 50 more theater-goers in a
pinch. “I would say it's been very good,”
Soenen said of reaction to the theater
plan. “There are certainly questions. I
have not perceived any negative
response fromthe business community.”
An extensive EPIC-MRA survey in
2017 found 94 percent of city residents
and 84 percent of township residents
are aware of PARC. Soenen touts a
stronger Detroit Institute of Arts pres-
ence locally, along with the College for
Creative Studies having extensive
course offerings at PARC.
“All the regional arts organizations
are very interested in coming in,”
including the Detroit Symphony
Orchestra and Michigan Opera Theatre,
he said. “It adds prestige to our commu-
nity.”
Gail Grieger, executive director of
PARC, also touts the College for
Creative Studies (CCS) classes, which
started in October. “They've been very
successful,”Grieger said.
CCS courses will start up again in
January, and include both a pre-college
experience for youth and adult educa-
tion. “All kinds of stuff that they're offer-
ing,” she said.
Upcoming Young Artist short courses
through CCS include digital photogra-
phy and computer animation. An April
Plymouth Ice Festival
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PARC
from page 11
See
PARC,
page 14
