The Gainesville City Commission unanimously voted at a Thursday meeting to grant the Cotton Club Museum and Cultural Center $40,000 to repair its air conditioning system.
The project is financed through the Gainesville Community Reinvestment Area fund, a 10-year program meant to improve infrastructure throughout the city.
The program has also funded projects like The Streatery and the Historic Heritage Trail Project.
The total repair costs for the museum may exceed $50,000, museum founder Vivian Filer said. In addition to renovating its building, the museum plans to focus on restoring the remaining shotgun houses on the property and the Perryman store moving forward.
Filer welcomed suggestions from commission members at Thursday’s meeting on how to raise money for the additional costs and further restoration projects.
“We look into funding at all levels we can afford,” Filer said. “We do everything we can to keep ourselves viable.”
Filer also said Black organizations, like The Cotton Club, have faced greater challenges in securing financial support from donors and institutions. In light of the challenges, Filer said she’s grateful for the financial support the museum receives.
Mayor Harvey Ward was in favor of the museum repair efforts. However, because of the city’s restricted budget, he said he won’t approve additional requests for city-funded projects for the remainder of the fiscal year.
“It’s not a new thing that we have a tight budget,” Ward said. “We’ll always have a tight budget.”
With limited funds, some commissioners expressed concerns about how to prioritize preservation projects for nonprofit organizations.
While Commissioner Ed Book said he’s on the “conservative end” of funding projects due to the city’s financial constraints, he sees the long-term benefit of the grant.
“Where you do something for infrastructure, like HVAC systems or roofing, then we know we’re going to see the benefit of that for the entire community for years to come,” Book said.
The repairs are a part of other restoration efforts spanning more than two decades.
Beginning in 2005, the Cotton Club Project rebuilt portions of the building, including installing a metal roof and windows, according to the museum’s website. Other phases of the restoration project included installing mechanical systems and completing the building’s interior.
Despite earlier repairs, Commissioner Cynthia Chesnut said this was one of the museum’s first times approaching the city for help in funding repairs and restoration.
“It’s been a pretty well-grounded community effort to bring it to this point,” Chesnut said. “They have made it a long way without our support, and this was an opportunity for us to step up to the table to help.”
Plans for the Cotton Club’s restoration began as a collaborative effort with UF and Santa Fe College. A 2015 state grant to restore the building’s dance hall contributes some of the funding for restoration efforts.
The city’s $40,000 grant comes as the museum prepares for its May 23 Emancipation Day Celebration, which commemorates Florida’s official end of slavery in 1865.
Contact Olivia Lofaso at olofaso@alligator.org. Follow her on X @OLofaso77652
