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public hearing

Thorne building art center plan advances to public hearing

Thorne building art center plan advances to public hearing

The historic Thorne Building on Franklin Avenue in the Village of Millbrook was originally built in 1894.

Photo by Charlie Greenberg

MILLBROOK — The village Planning Board has scheduled a public hearing for Monday, March 16, to hear residents’ comments on plans to convert the Thorne Building on Franklin Avenue into a community arts center.

Expecting a large attendance, the Planning Board has announced that the meeting will be held at the Millbrook Firehouse at 20 Front St., beginning at 6 p.m.

Residents will be invited to comment on revised site plans for the Thorne Building. Envisioned to become a vibrant arts center serving the area, the Thorne building would offer a multi-faceted program of activities in the visual and performing arts, studio and practice space.

Formerly a school, the landmark Thorne Building would offer a state-of-the-art theater space for films, concerts, and dance recitals, a technology center, space for entrepreneurs, culinary education, gallery space, arts instruction, and more.

Also on the agenda will be a public hearing on site plans for the former Orangerie garden center nursery property that stands at 3416 to 3424 Franklin Avenue, at the intersection with Route 44.

The applicant is seeking to add three structures and to raze and replace one greenhouse. The application also asks to add a limited food enterprise to the site.

An application for the second phase of plans for the Reardon Briggs property will also be discussed by the Planning Board.

Leila Hawken
public hearing

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