Title
Cotton Club/ Perryman Grocery Store (B)
Explanation
Cotton Club Grocery Store and Cultural Market (W917) - The Cotton Club is an important historical asset for both the Eastside district and the entire Gainesville community. In its heyday, this once-popular venue was host to such performers as James Brown, Brook Benton, and BB King. CRA is a proud partner working to restore this historic building, which will serve as a neighborhood center for recreational, social, educational, and retail opportunities.
Complimentary to the restoration of the Cotton Club, the CRA has budgeted $50,000 in FY2007 for rehabilitation of the adjacent Perryman's grocery storefront. Building off of the unique social and cultural offerings of the Cotton Club, the revitalization of this historic grocery will enhance the vitality of the site and the surrounding neighborhood. Therefore, staff also proposed in the 2008 budget funding $50,232 for interior rehabilitation of the Perryman's building. Interior improvements will include installation of a commercial kitchen, as well as refrigeration units to both store and display prepared and unprepared food that may be cooked and sold onsite.
In conjunction with the above mentioned physical improvements, staff proposed budgeting $22,000 for programming at the Cotton Club/Perryman's site in order to establish, advertise, and recruit vendors for an outdoor cultural market, a recurring event unlike anything else in Gainesville. The market will emphasize the City's diverse ethnic and multicultural offerings and feature an eclectic array of prepared food, grown food, and other one-of-a-kind handmade items. Staff envisions the market will develop into destination event, drawing visitors from around the City to visit and shop in the Eastside. The Perryman's market will also increase opportunities for local entrepreneurship; vendors can prepare food in the on-site kitchen and sell their wares at the market or in...
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