ASU, Scottsdale group agree on preserving Kerr Cultural Center

 by Allison Gatlin
 published on Monday, March 24, 2008

Lindy Mapes / THE STATE PRESS

ART HISTORY: The ASU Kerr Cultural Center has been at the center of negotiations between the Historical Preservation Commission of Scottsdale and ASU over the buildings future.

A committee in Scottsdale is doing all it can to ensure long-term preservation of the 50-year-old Kerr Cultural Center.

The Historic Preservation Commission of Scottsdale rejected a proposal on March 13 that would offer some protection for the center because the plan did not include the building's exterior and parking lot, said Don Meserve, a representative of the Historic Preservation Commission.

The Scottsdale Historic Register Committee, a part of the Historic Preservation Commission, began about a year ago to look for further protection for the Kerr Cultural Center by placing it on their register, Meserve said.

The University and the historic commission have been working together since January to work out the details of the proposal, he said.

The easement — a legal agreement between the University and the city of Scottsdale — was first offered by the University as an alternate to the original zoning overlay that the city initiated, Meserve said. An overlay district is an area where a city creates special requirements to accommodate preservation or other needs.

"In the end, the easement will be recognition that the building is historically significant and deserves recognition and meets the qualifications of the Scottsdale Historic Register," Meserve said.

He added that the zoning overlay would have offered the cultural center status as a historically significant building on the Scottsdale Historic Register. If added to the list, the building would have protection from demolition for up to one year and, as the owner of the building, the University would have to seek permission from the city before making changes to the exterior.

The University counter-offered with the easement. This document would still protect the center by putting it on the Scottsdale Historic Register as well as offer up to 50 years protection for the facility. In the easement, the University also agreed to still ask for permission from the city to make changes to the exterior, Meserve added.

Paul Berumen, ASU director of Local Government Affairs, said the University was able to ask for the easement as an alternate to the zoning overlay because the Kerr Center sits on state land, so the city cannot supersede the state by forcing the University to comply with zoning rules.

"We offered this easement as an alternate form of preservation that would still meet both parties' goal of preservation," Berumen said.

In addition to the concerns that have been voiced by the commission about protection for the building, citizens have also begun to speak up about their concern that the University may change the building's intended use as an arts venue, Meserve said.

"Citizens were concerned about the future of it even though ASU said that it had no plans for selling the building," Meserve said.

Berumen said ASU has been saying for the last year that it would not.

"ASU sent out a letter in May of last year saying that ASU has no plans to sell the Kerr Cultural Center or change its use," he said.

The committee will meet again on April 10, and the University will present revisions to the agreement. If the additions are accepted, the easement will be put on the committee's agenda for recommendation to the Historic Preservation Commission.

Reach the reporter at allison.gatlin@asu.edu.