COMMUNITY CENTER OR EVENT VENUE OR BOTH?
‘Twas the month of Christmas, and the Armory was glowing; but there was still no rental Town policy, and confusion appeared growing.
“It’s kind of a minefield,” Mayor Lafayette Dickens told members of Council at their Nov. 17th meeting.
Three months after being dedicated and after $5.9 million worth of renovations — including a paved 67-spot parking lot — specific uses of the building appear far from certain.
Council on Nov. 17th once again debated whether to make the armory a local community center or a profit-making event venue — or perhaps both.
Councilwoman Carolyn Williams, who chairs the Town’s Buildings, Properties, & Cemetery Committee, said she hopes details can be worked-out soon. “We need to come together as a whole, to figure out the fees that are feasible for a community center.”
Councilman Wesley Gormus recalled that the November 2020 referendum question listed a community center and not an event venue aimed at making profits for the Town.
“I know that I didn’t vote in favor to renovate it, just to turn it into a profitable venue,” Gormus recalled. “It was more of something to have community events.”
Gormus also said that before the Town begins trying to get bookings, Council must first secure class schedules of Virginia State University (VSU) and Virginia Union University (VUU), whose hospitality students will train inside the 1937 landmark that was a community controversy here for two decades.
Councilman Jake Allman said he doesn’t recall the Town speaking of the building as a profit center but instead, simply discussing ways to offset operating costs.
Ms. Williams made it clear Nov. 17th that Council isn’t ready for formal action. “We’re not voting for anything,” she said, but she did say she prefers a proposed two-page application rather than a 15-page document recommended by a mayor-appointed committee.
Allman pointed out that catered events are going to be crucial for VSU and VUU students to receive necessary hospitality training experience.
Town community developer Chastiddy Bryant, who worked closely with both universities, agreed, saying that among the key components of the classes is “utilizing the armory for events as part of the internship and hands-on experience.”
Councilwoman Williams agreed that VSU and VUU “come first. Let’s get their 2026 proposed calendars and work around that before we start throwing-out dates.”
Council President Eric Nash said that the general assumption is that if a wedding reception is being held inside the building, one of the universities would be catering the event.
Ms. Bryant agreed and mentioned VUU’s collaboration with Southern Kitchen. “As part of the internship, students would have to put on a program from beginning-to-end… and then professors would come down to grade them. There would be an EVENT in the building where the students would cook and serve.”
Gormus said he believes all of that is still possible while also using the landmark as a community center.
Councilman Chris Page asked if students could also cater at additional event venues including The Inn at Blackstone.
Allman didn’t disagree with that premise but noted, “We just built a giant kitchen” inside the armory.
Nash said the Town’s partnership with VSU and VUU is to “bring those events to the school (armory).”
Gormus said he doesn’t recall that language.
Allman said it’s part of the “public-private partnership that we’re trying to do.”
Council during its 12-minute discussion didn’t mention basketball. The new building features a lined basketball court but no goals, despite the fact that basketball was among the pledged activities during debate several years ago.
Councilwoman Williams urged colleagues to let Ms. Bryant obtain more information “because we can be up here all night talking about what we thought we heard.” She encouraged more information to be presented in December so that Council can make informed decisions before the new year. “Twenty-six (2026) is just around the corner.”
Ms. Bryant agreed and reminded Council, “The initial purpose, when we first began having conversations, is that events would take place, and people would come and we would have food. That’s the whole purpose of a commercial kitchen.”
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