And I have to admit that the exterior is striking. It still looks like the First Baptist Church, but it's clean, with some modern-looking windows and doors, and the landscaping is very well done. The contrast with the warehouse-like back wall of the HEB across the street is strong.
I have to wonder if we got our money's worth, though. As I understand it, the total cost was around $6.5 million ($2 million to the Baptist Church for the property, and $4.5 million to refurbish. For that money we got
- A small, mostly concrete park.
- A Farmer's Market area that today attracted exactly one person selling fresh produce (there were about 10 vendors in all, and one was selling local honey).
- Office space for some city and county agencies which had been housed elsewhere downtown.
- An office for the Killeen Arts Guild.
- Some rental space currently occupied by a private high school.
- An old chapel with wooden pews.
- A performance hall (the old sanctuary) with a large stage, theater seating, and really bad acoustics.
Many people in Killeen will at some point be happy that KAAC is there. I can see some good things in it. But we have to keep asking ourselves (especially when we're talking millions of dollars) if we are making the best use of city resources. I have yet to see evidence that, in the case of KAAC, we did so.
It is interesting also to note that the sound system for the auditorium was not delivered or installed yet. It appears the timing was to be a PR event for the outgoing mayor as one of his downtown revitalization projects. The acoustics should be better with a good sound system if it is adequate for the size of the auditorium. Time will tell.
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