Millbrook residents back Thorne Building renovation plans, seek details on lighting and accessibility

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."