Watertown gets new venue, business hub

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – After years of work, a new venue – complete with a new look – was unveiled Thursday on lower Franklin Street in Watertown.

The former Strand Theater and Club Rio and an adjoining building has transformed into a hub for business and the arts. It took years of planning and work, but the walls are up, the floors are down, and the rooms are painted..

The facade was unveiled Thursday.

The building will be home to HarmoNNY Performing Arts, and Jefferson Community College’s “NEST,” a new workspace for entrepreneurs.

The building is operated by Neighbors of Watertown.

“I think it’s really a game changer for lower Franklin Street,” said Reginald Schweitzer, Executive Director of Neighbors of Watertown.

“We hope to see a lot of good activity here and gear the space towards a lot of public events,” Schweitzer said.

JCC used $2.5 million in Downtown Revitalization funds it was awarded in 2018. The hub expands the college’s campus into downtown.

“I think this a good opportunity for us to market that, show students that we aren’t just come to school and go somewhere else. It is ‘Come to school, you could start your business and move on, get a two-year degree and go out in the workforce, or start your own business,’” said Dr. Dan Dupee, president of the college.

There’s also space to rent out.

“If people are working from home and they need an office, if they need a conference room, they have the ability to do daily and weekly rentals, monthly rentals, whatever they need,” Dupee said.

JCC will share the space with HarmoNNY Performing Arts, which will host an array of different performances.

“Performances are going to be anything you can think of, from music to dance, to comedy, to theater,” said Joe Foy, Board President, HarmoNNY Performing Arts Community.

“This is going to be the most unique space that will exist in downtown Watertown, and I’m not sure a space like this has existed for quite some time,” Foy said.

There’s still some work to be done. The goal is to have both JCC and HarmoNNY in the space at the end of October.

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