Room for creativity: first in a series: A new stage to shine on

UTRGV to buy spaces downtown Brownsville, talks of new construction for visual arts

After securing approval to purchase the Majestic Theatre and the old JCPenney building on Elizabeth Street in downtown Brownsville to be used as performing arts spaces, UTRGV officials say there are plans to construct a new building for visual art students.

In response to a whirlwind of concerns about the conditions of Rusteberg Hall, a Texas Southmost College building UTRGV leases to house classes for the School of Art and Design, university officials met with students and faculty in April to discuss the idea of purchasing buildings downtown Brownsville for visual and performing art classes.

However, after proposing the purchase during the Aug. 23-24 University of Texas System Board of Regents meeting, UTRGV shifted gears and turned to the idea of a new construction for visual art classes and a purchase for performing arts.

“After some conversations with the Board of Regents and some others, it was kind of decided that … we really need to see the feasibility of new construction on campus and there’s a lot of good reasons to do that,” College of Fine Arts Dean Jeffrey Ward said during an Aug. 21 interview with The Rider.

Ward said the buildings’ seller, the Roy F. and Joann Cole Mitte Foundation, wants to restore the 20,400-square-foot Majestic, a 1948 construction with a rich history, to its “former glory” as a theater. 

“That’s where we come in as a partner in this, in taking over that building to create a new performing arts center for the College of Fine Arts,” Ward said. “And so this would allow us to have a permanent space.”

A plaque outside the Majestic describes the building as having “stylistic influences of the modern architectural movement” complete with “Art Deco murals, stairway and terrazzo floors.”

During a Sept. 8 interview with The Rider, Roy De los Santos, Brownsville District 3 city commissioner and a member of the Mitte Foundation executive board, said the purchase has not yet been finalized and that the next steps relate to the title company, surveys and inspections.

De los Santos said he can not share the cost of the purchase because it is not yet public knowledge but added that the foundation is excited about the university’s expansion into the downtown area.

“When we were first considering the Majestic … we were looking at … completely restoring it and leasing it to a tenant to generate revenue,” De los Santos said. “But when the UT System approached us, they expressed interest to buy, not [lease]. … I think that’s a great addition, considering what UTRGV is looking to do, especially related to the arts.”

Currently, UTRGV relies on the TSC Performing Arts Center for performances, which results in scheduling limitations. Ward said purchasing the buildings downtown would provide spaces for performances and coursework, particularly for theatre, music and dance.

Theatre senior Savannah Mares is based in Brownsville and travels to Edinburg at least two days a week every semester to attend classes. In an interview with The Rider last Thursday, Mares said having a space in Brownsville for performing arts is a “great idea.”

“I think it’s a really, really great opportunity for those who are primarily from Brownsville and have to [ride] the bus every single day,” she said.

Mares said she does not think there would be any issue with having an off-campus space because downtown Brownsville is “growing” and “changing.”

She added that although she may graduate before the space is ready, she is grateful that future students will “have more opportunities to perform and to participate.”

In an Aug. 22 interview with The Rider, UTRGV President Guy Bailey said the university has been trying to purchase the Majestic Theatre for several years and that renovation in the buildings will start as soon as possible.

As for visual art spaces, Bailey said the university has tried buying spaces downtown in the past and that the “best alternative was simply to build … a new facility on campus.”

Ward said the plan is to work with the University of Texas System Board of Regents for new construction on campus dedicated to the School of Art and Design.

Psychology freshman Juan Martinez has a minor in graphic design and said he is taking art classes in Rusteberg Hall this fall.

Martinez said that although he has not been at the university long enough to form an opinion about Rusteberg, he believes a new building on campus for visual art students would be beneficial.

“I think that would be great,” the freshman said. “There [would be] more space for art classes and just to display more art at campus, you know, show the talent and the potential that students have.”

Ward said the new plan could address concerns about traveling and parking downtown, security at night and building specifications that meet requirements for art equipment.

“New construction allows us to build to the exact specifications of our needs as opposed to taking [an] existing building and retrofitting it,” he said, referencing the concerns raised back in April.

UTRGV officials are working on a proposal for a new construction. Ward said once the proposal is complete, progress will be made according to the UT System Board of Regents meeting schedule.

Ed Pogue, UTRGV School of Art and Design director, believes there is an opportunity to grow on the Brownsville campus, especially, if the university can make “visual communication design coursework available in Brownsville.”

Pogue said in the meantime, the university will buy new art equipment, including kilns, easels, computers, tables and chairs.

—Teresita Dominguez, copy editor for The Rider, contributed to this report.