Swampscott Center For The Performing Arts To Host Open House

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — The operators of the forthcoming Swampscott Center for the Performing Arts plan to host an open house on the night of the town fireworks on July 3 to re-introduce residents to the historic property and provide a preview of programming for the next 30 months.

Performing Arts Center Johnny Nicastro, aka Johnny Ray, made that announcement at Wednesday's Select Board meeting in advance of a virtual public hearing on the new occupant's alcohol and entertainment licenses set for Monday at 8 p.m.

Subscribe

"We're going to invite the town in and see what's going on," he said of the center set to include a performance space, restaurant and bar, coffee stand, gift store and museum. "I just want people to use the property, see the fireworks — have a good time.

"By then you'll be able to see the environment and what we've created. It will be fun."

The application includes entertainment and alcohol service from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Nicastro said measures will be taken to make sure that sound levels for performances are within acceptable levels and are contained within the building — including potentially closing doors to contain sound as the evening grows later.

The Swampscott Center for the Performing Arts was granted a temporary lease of 30 months as the town moves forward on the larger redevelopment of the ocean-front property it purchased for $7 million.

Town Administrator Nick Connors outlined a timeline for that process that begins with the issuing of a RFP this summer. The Select Board on Wednesday began discussing the parameters for that RFP with hopes of determining a full outline at its June 17 meeting.

Among the discussions will be what restrictions, if any, the town wants to put on the scope of the project and how to put a scoring system in place that helps generate a project that is most in line with what residents want in the property.

That includes weighing how much the town does, or does not, want residential units, commercial property, retail space, performance space, recreational space and open space.