News of this exciting development in Haynes Manor is brought to you by Michelle Winters and the Atlanta Opera.
ATLANTA, GA – September 23, 2024 – The Atlanta Opera, recognized as one of the leading opera companies in the United States, will transform the historic Bobby Jones Clubhouse, located on Woodward Way on the Atlanta Beltline, into a home for opera and the performing arts in a community-forward, multi-disciplinary arts center. The Opera’s newly unveiled plan will create a nature-inspired recital hall, immersive theatre venue and education spaces, as well as administrative and rehearsal areas for the Opera.
The recital and theatrical spaces will support a variety of performances and community engagement focusing on the arts, including recitals, jazz, cabarets, immersive chamber operas and more. Located on the Atlanta Beltline, the building and surrounding park will link the opera to the community and create a welcoming place for the arts.
The facility is expected to cost $45 million with core funding already secured. Announcements of the donors and a capital campaign will be forthcoming. The project is estimated to be completed by summer of 2027.
“This new, permanent home for The Atlanta Opera ensures the right fit for our current and future growth,” said Tomer Zvulun, the Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director of The Atlanta Opera. “A state-of-the art facility in this park setting will be a source of creativity for our local and visiting musicians. It is perfectly positioned to help us serve audiences and collaborators in our beautiful city and beyond.”
The Atlanta Opera remains committed to hosting its main-stage productions at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, ensuring a continued presence as one of the city’s major cultural organizations.
The former Bobby Jones Clubhouse on Woodward Way on the Beltline is a Grecian revival built in the early 1900s. The property was reviewed by the Haynes Manor Foundation for renovation into a community-centric classical recital hall. As plans advanced, The Atlanta Opera’s search for a new facility converged with those of the Foundation. The Atlanta Opera has worked closely with the Haynes Manor Foundation, the Peachtree Battle Alliance, and the Atlanta Memorial Park Conservancy to plan a space that presents artistic formats and genres in innovative performance spaces, natural environments, and offers an exceptional acoustic experience.
Allen Post, managing partner of the Atlanta-based architecture firm, Post Loyal, leads the team engaged in designing the Opera’s new home. Preliminary plans call for restoration of the exterior of the historic clubhouse on Woodward Way to blend seamlessly with the surrounding neighborhood’s traditional residences, while a state-of- the-art facility will face the Atlanta BeltLine. The total site area encompasses 4.7 acres of green space, the center, and parking.
The facility will transform the 17,000 square foot clubhouse into a 56,000+ square foot complex housing a 200-seat recital hall, administrative offices, a costume shop, a film studio, a rehearsal hall, and garden spaces. Theater Projects and A’kustiks, LLC., are developing the recital hall as a premiere venue to present classical singers and musicians, jazz ensembles, lectures and spoken word artists, and other performing arts. The development will enhance The Atlanta Opera’s operational capabilities, enrich the cultural landscape of the community and support a diversity of “unamplified performances” to satisfy the eclectic tastes of our city.
“The Atlanta Opera has become known not only as one of the finest opera companies in the U.S., but also as a well-managed and financially sound business,” said Rhys Wilson, Board Chair, The Atlanta Opera. “This is the company that safely presented live opera during the pandemic and still presented a balanced budget for the last eight years. The open and welcoming design of this building emphasizes the same values we held during the pandemic and that we will always espouse — of being a skillfully managed organization dedicated to making beautiful music available to everyone, everywhere.”
The Atlanta Opera’s rehearsal space and administrative offices are currently located on Atlanta’s West End on Northside Drive, where the organization has outgrown the site. Performers rehearse in a general-purpose room that also serves as a storage area and borders an active railroad track.
With a location on the Atlanta Beltline, the Arts Center and recital hall are well positioned to become a city-wide source of pride and excitement. The creation of this space, home to the first arts organization to be headquartered on the 22-mile outdoor Beltline loop, will enhance and build upon the quality of life enjoyed by Atlanta residents. The Atlanta Beltline connects different residential areas of the city to a variety of parks, retail, tourist destinations and attractions. In addition, the Beltline regularly hosts musicians, street artists, and artisans who use the walkways and greenspaces to create a strong artistic community.
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