BRATTLEBORO — New England Youth Theatre (NEYT) is putting the final touches of the current phase of its ongoing cleanup of its campus on Flat Street.
All that's left are the light poles, a second coat of asphalt on the parking lot, and flower gardens. They hope you'll celebrate this huge accomplishment and the full bloom of their campus on Satuday, Aug, 15, with a free community celebration at 4:30 p.m., after the matinee performance of their summer musical, Urinetown.
For the past several years, NEYT has been working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, and Windham Regional Commission to remediate their site.
The first step was removing the lead paint from the side of the brick building. The former Tri-State Automotive building was built in 1904 and has gone through many transformations over the last century. It was a paint factory, and then a brake shoe factory, among other things. Lead was a common addition to paint manufacturing, until the 1970s, when its toxicity was fully realized.
Funds from the Windham Regional Commission and Jane's Trust allowed NEYT to do a full abatement of the building's exterior. Those funds also let them remediate the soil next to the building. Grass and wildflowers are growing at a rapid rate, and students have already enjoyed playing on the new lawn.
The next milestone was building the extension to the set shop. Many helped last year with NEYT's 15 for 15 campaign, and they say they haven't forgotten their promise to let donors write their name on the new walls.
NEYT says that Dave Manning and his crew from DMI Paving have put “tremendous effort” into the onsite work. There is new topsoil across the entire site, and a number of new planting beds. When the weather cools off, permanent flower beds and more trees will be planted. The redesigned flow of traffic in the new parking area maximizes pedestrian safety and accessibility.
Two major accessibility upgrades to the theater include a ramp at the emergency exit and automatic door openers for the front door.