Soon The Jefferson Theater building will become another piece of Coran Capshaw’s empire. And when the theater closes for extensive renovations this summer, there will no longer be room for basement tenants like Better Than Television (BTTV), which must leave by June 30.
BTTV, an all-volunteer “radical” community center, has occupied 2,000 square feet in the basement for approximately one year, where they operate a lending library, a free store, a ‘zine rack, and a stage room for plays, music shows, films and sundry other eclectic projects geared particularly toward teens. Along with Tibetan street vendors who sell their wares outside during the day, BTTV subleases their basement space from a photographer. According to Sam Schuyler, a project assistant with Capshaw’s Red Light Management, that photographer’s lease has recently expired.
The community center thought it was secure until just a few weeks ago. The group submitted more than 60 letters in a campaign to solicit Capshaw’s support to let them stay put. Schuyler has met with the group and pledged to help find space by contacting other Mall property owners.
“We’re working daily to find them a new space,” he says.
Finding comparable space at comparable rent for Better Than Television won’t be easy. BTTV pays a heavily discounted monthly rent of only $500. “The real estate market in Charlottesville is obviously out of control, so it’s not like there are a lot of other spaces out there that are available for anything that’s not super chic or trendy,” says Jennifer, a BTTV member who, like many others in the collective, prefers to go by a single name.
“We’re very cognizant of the work they’ve done [repairing the space],” says Schuyler. “They’re a strong asset to the younger community Downtown. We’ve got the word out to just about everybody that we know and I’m fairly confident that we’ll find something.”—Will Goldsmith
As Capshaw-ville Expands, Alt art center seeks New Home
Soon The Jefferson Theater building will become another piece of Coran Capshaw’s empire. And when the theater closes for extensive renovations this summer, there will no longer be room for basement tenants like Better Than Television (BTTV), which must leave by June 30.
BTTV, an all-volunteer “radical” community center, has occupied 2,000 square feet in the basement for approximately one year, where they operate a lending library, a free store, a ‘zine rack, and a stage room for plays, music shows, films and sundry other eclectic projects geared particularly toward teens. Along with Tibetan street vendors who sell their wares outside during the day, BTTV subleases their basement space from a photographer. According to Sam Schuyler, a project assistant with Capshaw’s Red Light Management, that photographer’s lease has recently expired.