Holmes Center for the Arts seeks county backing for parking expansion

Holmes County leaders were asked to help fund a $325,758 parking expansion at the Holmes Center for the Arts in Berlin, a project that would add 71 spaces and a traffic loop at 5200 State Route 39. The plan is aimed at easing drop-off, pickup and event-day congestion for families, students and audiences using the center.

The request comes as the arts center has outgrown the parking and circulation setup that served it when it opened. The Holmes Center for the Arts celebrated its grand opening on Monday, March 28, 2022, after a project supported by local funding and a State of Ohio Cultural Facilities Grant. The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission said the original build was split into two phases because the pandemic disrupted construction.

That growth has been visible in the center’s numbers. In 2022, it served 535 students through classes and workshops and sold 3,424 tickets for live performances. The center’s website now lists 3,988 tickets sold, more than 633 students served, 42 classes per week and 21 live performances on stage, all signs that traffic around the building has become a practical issue rather than a minor inconvenience.

A traffic loop would give cars a way to enter, circulate and exit more efficiently, which leaders say could improve safety as well as convenience. That matters in Berlin, where the center sits in one of Holmes County’s busiest tourism and community corridors and where congestion already affects nearby roads. Holmes County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau coverage last month noted that the Ohio Department of Transportation is already considering six ways to improve the crowded U.S. Route 62, State Route 39, State Route 557 and County Road 201 intersection just west of Berlin, with options ranging from turn lanes to roundabouts and costs from $0 to $4.45 million.

For the arts center, the parking request is about keeping pace with demand for concerts, theater, classes and community programs. The facility’s mission is to provide educational and performing opportunities in the arts for people of all economic and social backgrounds in a wholesome, family-oriented atmosphere, and leaders say access is part of that promise. If parking remains tight, the concern is that visitors could be discouraged and future programming could be harder to support.

The Center Stage Theater’s grand opening in January 2025 added another major draw and likely increased the number of people arriving for shows and special events. Holmes County commissioners now face a decision that goes beyond asphalt and striping: whether the county should help pay for an expansion that would keep one of Berlin’s busiest destinations easier to reach as it continues to grow.