MILLBROOK — Community members had a chance to weigh in on plans to renovate the Thorne Building on Franklin Avenue into a state-of-the-art event and community center.
Architect Michael Sloan of Millbrook-based Sloan Architects outlined a proposal that includes a rear addition to expand the stage, an enlarged parking lot, new exterior lighting, a front garden and the removal of the portico on the building’s east side. Sloan said the building, originally constructed as a K-12 school, would be transformed into a space for the community to gather and create.
Public comment was generally supportive, though several residents sought more details about the lighting plan and disability accessibility. The public hearing was continued to the board’s April 20 meeting.
Sloan said the renovations would breathe new life into the century-old building, which has sat vacant in downtown Millbrook for years. The plans call for nearly every space across the building’s four floors to be put to use.
“This project is taking the Thorne Building on Franklin Avenue and giving it purpose and life again,” Sloan said. “The project entails basically making the Thorne Building an actual community center for the community that’s going to be open for the public.”
Michael Sloan displays proposed expansions to the Thorne Building's parking lot to accommodate crowds for performances during a public hearing of hte Millbrook village Planning Board on Monday, March 16, at the Millbrook Firehouse on Front Street.Photo by Nathan Miller
The renovations are being funded by the Millbrook Community Partnership, a nonprofit headed up by Millbrook resident Oakleigh Thorne — a descendant of the building's namesake — to support the creation of Bennett Park on the former Bennett College campus and the restoration of the historic Thorne Building. Thorne said Monday the building is still several years from opening, but the organization has already outlined potential uses for the interior space.
At the center of the project is the auditorium, which Sloan said will be expanded to better accommodate professional performances.
"It's what we call a high school stage," Sloan said. "It's really for graduation and very shallow."
Sloan said the building would be expanded by about 20 feet, 9 inches at the rear to provide more stage depth and allow for the installation of an accessibility ramp behind the stage. He said the auditorium would be transformed into a performance hall capable of hosting films, live music, plays, dance productions, community meetings and other events. The first floor would also include co-working space available for community members to rent.
"It's for everybody," Sloan said.
In the basement, Sloan said, plans call for a culinary arts space similar to a catering kitchen. While it would allow for food preparation and serving, he said, it would not function as a full production kitchen. The basement would also include a digital arts lab that Sloan compared to a makerspace.
He said the area would house 3D printers, computers, sewing machines, music-recording equipment, practice rooms and other tools for digital creation.
More than 30 people attended the Monday-night meeting to hear plans for the new-and-improved Thorne Building on Franklin Avenue in Millbrook at a public hearing of the Millbrook village Planning Board on Monday, March 16.Photo by Nathan Miller
The arts-focused uses would continue on the upper floors, Sloan said. The second and third floors would be dedicated to gallery and studio space for visual artists. The second floor would also include a dance floor, allowing the space to host both community and private events.
Comments from the public were largely favorable, though some neighbors raised questions about lighting and accessibility.
Millbrook resident Heather Lavarnway, drawing on her experience as a professional municipal planner, praised the proposal while pressing Sloan for more information on lighting details. She asked for clarification about lighting temperatures and suggested alternative fixtures for some lights that could create unwanted glare.
"This project is clearly very well thought out," Lavarnway said. "It's sensitive to both the building and the neighborhood."
Other commenters asked for more details about the building’s accessibility features, prompting Sloan to explain that the structure would be brought up to current accessibility standards, including New York’s updated requirements that took effect Jan. 1.
"This is going to be state-of-the-art for accessibility, this building," Sloan said. He said he has experience designing buildings with high accessibility standards due to a high volume of work with universities. "I do this every single day."
Karina Powers teaches traditional dances from Mexico in Millbrook.
Powers received a master’s degree in Mexican folklore dance from Escuela de la Danza in Baja California, Mexico. Since moving to the United States, she has built a career in performance and teaching. She has not only served as a dance director and performed as a professional vernacular music singer in California, but she has also worked towards her Doctorate, which she will receive in October.
As the founder of her company, Powers works tirelessly to make sure her dancers have everything they need, including costumes, proper flooring, music and a space to practice. Her husband built wooden panels, called tarimas, for students to dance on with their folklórico shoes. Millbrook Mayor Peter F. Doro allows Powers and her group to practice in Millbrook Hall, where she brings the tarimas to every practice along with costumes and proper footwear.
Powers dreams of owning her own studio where she can practice with her group, offer more classes, store costumes and create a space for her dancers to do their hair and makeup before performances. She said she hopes people learn about her classes so her company can grow and she can teach dances from a wider range of Mexican states while having greater access to traditional dress.
As a single mother and professor, Powers’ mother, Carmen Méndez, put her children in dance classes and signed them up for track and field, always keeping them goal- and career-oriented. She helped Powers with her company by creating all of the costumes her dancers wear in their performances. After her mother’s death in 2021, Powers said she has dedicated herself to carrying forward the passion, work ethic and love of dance her mother instilled in her.
“I miss her terribly, and I’m here because of her,” Powers said. “That’s why I want to do this, because of her. She gave me a lot, with the costumes, with her support. I do it for my mom.”
Karina Powers and her students practice in Millbrook Hall.Lucia Iandolo
Dancers in Powers’ group are dedicated to learning the art of dance from different states in Mexico on Tuesday and Friday nights at Millbrook Hall. They travel from many different places in New York to participate, with some dancers traveling more than an hour to make it to rehearsal each week.
“It’s a lot of work, but they learn it. I believe they love it, and it’s a way to come together, to do something good, to do something healthy, and to have people around you who appreciate this kind of art,“ Powers said.
Powers has studied with professor Eloy Jiménez Figueroa since childhood and said his mentorship inspired her to become the teacher she is today. She added that while she may not be the best teacher, she learned from the best.
While living in California, Powers taught elementary, high school and college students, as well as adults. She was recruited to teach traditional Mexican folkloric dance because of the region’s large Mexican community. Today, she encourages people of all backgrounds to explore the rich traditions of Mexican dance.
“This type of dance is not only for people from Mexico,” Powers said. “This is an art and the arts unite nations.”
Powers hopes to continue sharing that art in Millbrook and one day teach in the Millbrook Central School District. Powers and her group will perform at the Millbrook Library on Nov. 21, presenting traditional Mexican dances and inviting audience members to participate.
As a professor, dancer and singer, Powers stays grounded by believing in something greater than herself. She says that praying and putting herself in the hands of God has helped anchor her. She hopes to teach and dance for as long as her body allows.
“My mom, for me, is an angel. I put myself in her hands, and I have faith,” Powers said. “I have faith that God, or something good, is going to be there for the group and for myself.”
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