If you’ve ever dreamed of running a restaurant at historic McCollum Hall in Fort Myers, now is the time to act.<\/p>\n
The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is accepting proposals for a restaurant. The CRA also wants bids to operate a music and performing arts center at the hall.<\/p>\n
McCollum once was the cultural hub of the Dunbar community in Fort Myers. But it’s been abandoned for years, and the city has tried for more than a decade to bring it back to life. <\/p>\n
The CRA has opened a website portal to accept proposals for the restaurant and arts center. The website is: McCollumHall.com <\/p>\n
The CRA said it wants the restaurant to be community-oriented and to honor the cultural legacy of McCollum.<\/p>\n
From the late 1930’s and well into the 1960’s, Black performers put on shows at McCollum. Artists included Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. McCollum was a regular stop on the so-called ‘Chitlin’ Circuit.’ That referred to places where African-Americans could safely perform and gather in the times of racial segregation. Entertainment venues were integrated by federal law starting in 1964. <\/p>\n
The building, on Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd., is on the National Register of Historic Places. <\/p>\n
The CRA said it also wants proposals for a music and performing arts center at McCollum. The agency said ideally that center would include opportunities for local artist development and community events. <\/p>\n
The deadline for the restaurant proposals is Friday, October 2, at 2 p.m. The deadline for art center proposals is the following Tuesday, October 6, at 2 p.m. <\/p>\n
The CRA said that after the bids are received, a selection committee will make decisions on which proposals to consider further, and may ask applicants to make presentations before the committee. <\/p>\n
Mike Walcher is a reporter with WGCU News, and also teaches Journalism at Florida Gulf Coast University. WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.<\/p>\n
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