Memorial Hall update: Matching fund drive met, construction begins

PINE PLAINS— Plans to convert one of the town’s most   noteworthy but neglected buildings into a performing arts center for the entire region to enjoy are underway. Pine Plains Memorial Hall (PPMH) is a lovely, aging brick building built in 1915. 

The landmark building is located on West Church Street (Route 199). It’s served as a vaudeville theater, movie house, dance studio, laundromat, hair salon, office space and mini-mall. 

It fell into disrepair in the 1990s, and in 2013 it was bought by a group of local residents intent on refurbishing it. The investors, Jack Banning, Ariel Schlein and the late Christian Eisenbeiss, formed SEB Holdings Management and bought the building for $199,000 in 2014. Schlein is no longer involved in the project.

Once finished, the hall is to be “the home of community-based civic and social programs, agricultural and arts education, a venue for concerts, films and cultural performances and an incubator for local charitable organizations and entrepreneurs,” according to its literature.

In 2015 a laundromat was installed in the rear of the basement. Last May there was a townwide Community Day celebration that drew hundreds from near and far.

Now, PPMH Executive Director Brian Keeler is celebrating all those moments and more, as the project heads into its construction phase.

“This is an exciting time for us right now,” he said. “We have begun our renovation and construction  and the underpinning of the building is starting to take shape. It’s a real harbinger of what’s to come.”

In late November of last year, PPMH conducted a matching grant drive, which was a “spectacular success,” said Keeler, adding more than $10,000 was raised. 

The effort was initiated after a visitor on Community Day spoke to Keeler about a matching fund drive that had just ended.

“He said, ‘Let’s do another one,’ and I was extraordinarily pleased with that,” said Keeler.

While the goal is always to raise as much money as possible, the drives focus on small, local donations.

“It’s a measurement of how much support the people of Pine Plains and this region have for this project,” said Keeler, adding the drive limited matching donations to the 12567 Pine Plains area code.

In terms of fundraising, PPMH just hit another milestone, reaching the $3 million mark. The total goal is between $4.8 and $5 million.

“We’ve come a long way but we still have a ways to go,” said Keeler.

Originally, the project was going to be split into a design phase, fundraising phase, go out for bidding and then begin construction. But the planners changed their approach, explained Keeler.

“What we realized is with a project like this and a small community it takes a long time to raise $5 million,” he said.

So now the fundraising will continue as the first phase of design and construction begins. After phase one is completed, the building will “have a certain level of usability.” Hopes are to have phase one done by the end of this year.

Much of the work is being done by local builders and contractors — of utmost importance to Banning, who sits on the board and has remained actively involved.

“We’ve had a lot of local people step up and get excited about the project,” said Keeler. “It is my hope that when people see the progress … the vision won’t be a dream, but reality.”

Area residents can continue to be a part of the vision as more matching grants and fundraising efforts get underway.

For more information on PPMH, go to www.ppmemorialhall.org or email brian@ppmemorialhall.org.