Vincennes supports Pantheon Business Theater as a co-working space

Transforming the downtown theater into a co-work space and small business incubator will take upwards of $2.4 million to do, and while city council members didn't vote to approve any specific monetary gift, this resolution thrusts them that direction.

“We have to step up and do our part,” Mayor Joe Yochum told the council members. “We can't just sit back and wait for someone to do this for us.”

Ever since city and county elected officials heard about plans for the Pantheon Business Theater back in July, the proposal has been a hot topic of conversation among city and county elected officials.

The co-work space and small business incubator would hopefully attract young entrepreneurs who want to develop their own ideas or for those wanting to start a business but without the financial resources for a lot of overhead costs.

And, through a proposed partnership with Purdue University, the shared work space would also function as a direct artery to the Foundry, Purdue's own entrepreneurial center, through which its programs and resources could flow.

An entrepreneur-in-residence at the Pantheon would oversee its daily operations and have access to the Foundry's network of alumni, mentors, legal counsel, programs and resources to help young entrepreneurs and connect job seekers with local businesses.

The city's resolution, while not outlining a specific amount, essentially says the city will, at some point, provide some kind of financial contribution to the effort. In exchange, the building would eventually be gifted to both city and county-elected officials, i.e. the entities primarily paying for the renovations.

INVin also promises to split any grant dollars secured for the project with county and city elected officials and allow them “significant and meaningful input in the final organization, structure and implementation” of the program.

INVin also promises to continue pursuing private donations to help fund not only renovations but the sustainability of the co-work space.

Already, 43 local businesses have come forward with sponsorships ranging from $1,000 per year all the way up to $25,000 per year over the next five years.

“And 40 out of the 43 haven't seen the presentation you did in July,” Tony Burkhart, owner of Burkhart Insurance Agency and a member of INVIn's board of directors, told council members.

“They just saw an email saying, 'Hey, have you read about this in the paper? Have you heard about it on the radio? Would you support it?'”

Burkhart added that “the business community is firmly behind” the project. One sponsor, he said, is a man from West Lafayette who's spent “fewer than 24 hours” in Vincennes.

And those sponsorships, INVin officials believe, should generate enough money in coming years to maintain the facility and pay to staff it.

County council president Bob Lechner, who acknowledged his reputation for “being concerned with financial matters,” told city council members that it was that private support that ultimately convinced him.

He's “99 percent positive” this project will see grant dollars from the state, he said, and the sponsorships alone could generate as much as $500,000 over the next five years, INVin officials say.

Local businesses, he said, “are intrigued with both the idea and the location” and are curious as to what kind of boost it could give to Knox County.

“It's an iconic building that can never be replicated or replaced,” Lechner said, adding that doing this would not only save the Pantheon Theatre but also see it transformed into an economic development tool.

Councilman Brian Grove, however, said the location was his only concern. Why not, he asked, start smaller?

“Then we could move into the Pantheon in a few years when we know we have something that will be successful,” he said.

But INVin founder Steve Miller said the project is generating interest already. The “reception,” he said, of INVin's plans suggest it will be “full and meaningful,” and using the Pantheon also offers opportunities for conference and training space for existing, established businesses and organizations.

And, he added, the proposed renovations, down the road, could be easily adapted for another use.

“So much of what we're doing would be useable for something else,” Miller told the council. “We're not creating a single-use facility here.”

Burkhart, too, pointed out that if it isn't this — something, at some point, will need to be done with the Pantheon, which has been sitting empty for more than 50 years.

“It will cost a huge chuck (of money) at some point,” Burkhart said, “if the city doesn't do anything with it.

“And this project will create the kind of (business) culture we need.”

Council president Scott Brown said he's looked at this proposal from “many angles” since it was first laid out for council members this summer.

“Eventually something will need to be done with that building,” he told his fellow council members. “And the city would be the one responsible for demolition if we don't.”

Moving forward with the Pantheon Business Theater, he said, places the county on the hook, financially, as well.

If they do nothing now, the city could be on its own, he said.

“The risk to the county is bigger than to the city,” he said. “Because, eventually, we have to do something.”

The theater has changed hands a few times over the years as people have attempted to raise the funds needed to restore it. Local developer Heath Klein years ago purchased the property at a tax sale and, a year later, gifted it to INVin.

INVin has since secured a federal grant to put a new roof on it.

Councilman Tim Salters asked how, moving forward, the project's success could be measured. How many businesses will it spur? How many jobs will it create, he asked?

“What do we tell the taxpayers?” he asked.

Burkhart, however, suggested that doing nothing would be a greater burden.

“If we do this, there will be success,” he said. “If one job comes out of there, if a family member of yours stays in this community, I think you could call that a success.

“This is a step in economic development that we need to take,” Burkhart said. “The success will be measured years down the road.”