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."
This fish took a Wooly Bugger in basic black, with rubber legs. Always get the rubber legs.
Then I hit on a succession of inflatable pontoon and belly boats, powered by oars and/or swim fins, and there I have remained.
Did I forget to mention that no motors are allowed on this lake? Well, no motors are allowed, and it’s no good arguing that a small electric trolling motor couldn’t possibly hurt anything. Ask me how I know this.
It’s a quiet, rejuvenating few weeks. The phone gets enough signal on one end of the deck to receive messages and maybe make a call if the wind is right. If something comes up, it’s only 15 minutes to so-called civilization.
When not fishing, I read, visit assorted cousins, listen to baseball on the AM radio and/or stare blankly into the middle distance.
Bassing with a fly rod in still water is a different game than chasing trout in streams.
A medium-fast-action rod, 8 to 10 feet, in line weight 7 or 8 is the starting point. The flies are big, and the wind is constant, so the angler needs some power, tempered with a bit of finesse.
I usually bring two rods. One is rigged with a floating line with a heavy front taper for turning over surface flies such as poppers.
The other has either a sink-tip or intermediate line. The lake is not all that deep, and the Woolly Buggers, Clousers and other streamers are heavy. The idea is to stay out of the vegetation while getting close to where the lunkers are hunkered down.
I use short nylon leaders, 7.5 feet with 1X tippet out of the package, and modify them constantly with additional sections of fluorocarbon tippet, snaps and droppers.
Surface action is usually minimal during the day unless it’s overcast. The lake runs east-west, so the angler can track the midmorning and late-afternoon shadows and work those areas.
Or the angler can wait until about 6:30 p.m., when things start to pick up.
Or get out there at the crack of dawn, which is best if surface action is the goal.
For subsurface fishing, some experimentation is required to find the right combination of flies, leader and sink rate. The angler also has to decide whether to troll.
There are a few places where a dry-dropper rig is appropriate, the dry being an extremely buoyant popper with a piece of stout fluorocarbon tippet tied to the bend of the hook and something heavy and wiggly at the end, like a stonefly nymph with rubber legs. (Always get the rubber legs.)
If this sounds like a bobber, it’s because it is. Don’t tell anyone. The purists don’t like it.
A net with a long handle is necessary. There is no leverage when sitting in what amounts to a floating chair.
I do not bring my phone for fish pictures. I will drop it into the depths. Ask me how I know this.
Instead I bring a small point-and-shoot camera. These get lost too, but perversely I have better luck keeping the cheap gear safe than the expensive items.
Sunscreen is applied liberally and frequently. After 50-odd years of being outside, I now have to visit the dermatologist every so often to have my face edited, and I don’t enjoy it.
A baseball cap does nothing for the ears and neck. I have a hat with a wide brim and a vented top, so it doesn’t get too hot. It looks stupid, but this is an acceptable risk.
Finally, a word about the quarry. Largemouth bass are not picky eaters. When engaged they usually dive and tug. Once in a while they leap. They are easily discouraged, however, and after a minute or two come meekly to the net.
Smallmouth, not so much. These aren’t especially big, but every smallie I’ve ever met thought it was much bigger than it actually was. Expect acrobatics.
Perch usually grab my fly when I don’t want them to.
Perch are in the August mix, usually when I don’t want them to be.Patrick L. Sullivan
Panfish are everywhere. They are extremely cooperative. Chasing sunnies is a good way to get a newcomer started.
And then there are the pickerel. These are nasty fish. Very antisocial. I keep a pair of long-handled pliers handy to get the fly out of their mouths safely while admiring the large number of very sharp teeth. They will bite the pliers. Do not use your fingers. Again, ask me how I know this.
Upon release, it’s not unusual to observe the pickerel hanging around a few yards away, glaring and plotting hideous revenge.
So this is the August routine, occasionally leavened with a scramble into a brook trout stream if conditions allow.
It’s peaceful. Kind of boring, in a good way.
And then in the fall the game shifts back to rivers and streams for trout.
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MOMIX is one of the featured performers at this year’s Arts Connected fundraiser on Aug. 29.
Barry Blitt created an original piece for the fundraiser that will adorn a limited edition T-Shirt for sale during the event.Provided
The evening will feature live plein air painting by artists from Plein Air Litchfield, performances by Our Culture Is Beautiful (OCIB), fire performer Cinderfella, and Susan Becker Aziz’s monumental humpback whale puppet, originally created for Paul Winter’s “Missa Gaia.” Guests will also have the opportunity to purchase artwork from a curated exhibition, with proceeds supporting the Arts Council’s mission to strengthen and promote the arts throughout Northwest Connecticut.
This year’s honorary host committee includes Meryl Streep, Diane von Furstenberg, Tim Daly, Téa Leoni, Maria Horn, Patti LuPone, Jack O’Brien, Sam Waterston and Paul Winter. Creative cocktail attire is encouraged, and attendance is limited. The event is open to guests 21 and older.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit artsnwct.org
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