ARLINGTON, VA—Arlington County Manager Barbara Donnellan saying the facility has not lived up to its revenue projections, has recommended the Artisphere cultural center be shut down.
“I will be recommending that the county close the Artisphere as a cultural center in fiscal year 2016,” Donnellan says. “This was a business decision… this was a tough decision, a disappointing one. The reality is that the Artisphere has not lived up to projections.” She adds that the cultural center would require “substantial ongoing tax support” to keep in operation, according to Arlington Now.
The county will be studying options for sub-leasing Artisphere to an entity in the arts, media, or technology industires, or returning the space to building owner Monday Properties.
Artisphere will remain open through June 30. It will close sometime after that if the County Board adopts Donnellan's recommendation. At first blush it appears the Board is backing Donnellan on the issue and therefore the Artisphere's days appear numbered. See story at ArlingtonNow.
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