The church building, which was built in 1859 and whose exterior is registered as a New York City , State and Federal historical landmark, has been vacant since its congregation moved out in 1985. 

Inside, cobwebs cover the rafters and the floor beams are exposed beneath floorboards cut open by contractors who removed the pews. 

The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development did invest about $500,000 to transform the church’s grounds into a small park called Jamaica Green, where there are occasional concerts and other public events held, but other than that, the space has gone unused.

The group that conducted the GJDC study looked around and noticed a need for Downtown Jamaica’s thriving business and arts scene to have more space to do all of its business and arts activities. 

It suggested, at the end of the study in 1991, that the best way to use the church space would be to turn it into a performing arts and business center.

In 1992, another study found that the new center should be run not by a new management entity, but by existing local organizations. 

Three were chosen.

The Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL), a non-profit group on Jamaica Avenue that hosts more arts and educational performances, exhibits and workshops than any other organization in the area, will provide its experience in event programming, said Executive Director Alexander Campos.

“We’ll probably be focusing on a myriad of performances,” Campos said.  “Because it’s a flexible space, we’ll probably be using the space for functions.”

The Black Spectrum Theatre Company (BSTC), which is based in Roy Wilkins Park and has its own 300-seat theater there, as well as a truck-based mobile stage from which it holds performances all over Southeast Queens , will be involved in all the technical aspects of the facility, including sound, lighting and video, said Founder and Executive Producer Carl Clay.

“It would become an extension of our current home,” Clay said.  “For us, it will be a chance to take some of our best performances and remount them in a professional theater atmosphere for a seasoned theater audience.”

Cultural Collaborative Jamaica (CCJ), a coalition of 14 Jamaica cultural organizations, will contribute its experience in multi-organization management to the project by managing its rental program, said Executive Director Tyra Emerson.

“CCJ,” Emerson said.  “is the link between the arts and business.”  She added that while the emphasis for the center will be on cultural programs, CCJ will also try to get the business community to use the space for meetings, conferences and workshops.

While each of the three organizations said separately that they are on equal footing in terms of planning and managing the Arts and Business Center , the nature of CCJ’s role places it as a logistical pointman in the project. 

Also, unlike JCAL and Black Spectrum, which have their own headquarters, CCJ, which currently uses a small one-room space in JCAL’s office, will establish its headquarters at the new Center.

“We will go from being able to be in an office with two people to a larger space with up to eight,” said Emerson, who noted that it’s the move to the new center that will allow CCJ to expand.

Emerson also noted that being in the new center will allow CCJ to run internship programs in which local students can learn theater and conference management.

Because of its triple-landmark status, the exterior of the First Reformed Church will be unchanged, though a platform will be built in front of the front staircase landing to allow for outdoor performances on the church’s lawn, according to the organizers.

While the interior of the church is not protected by landmark laws, Emerson said, the new center will try to embrace the space’s history and nature.

“We will still try to adhere to the original feel of the building,” Emerson said.  “We kept some of the pews, and the balconies are still there.”

The center will bring the centuries-old church well into the 21st century, with modern stage lighting and sound, as well as a high-speed T1 Internet line and videoconferencing capabilities provided by a grant from Verizon, Emerson said.

The first floor of the church will hold the stage and about 300 portable seats that can be removed for banquets and meetings, according to architectural plans for the center. 

There will also be a box office near the front of the church, as well as a new welcome center that the organizers hope will provide information about cultural and business resources not only in Downtown Jamaica and Southeast Queens , but the rest of the borough as well.

“We want all of the groups in the community to give us their information” to distribute at the welcome center, Emerson said.

The second floor of the church will hold about a quarter of the theater’s seats, as well as a control room for the stage’s lighting, sound and video effects, according to recent architectural plans.

The third floor of the church will hold a 20-seat conference room and an office.

The low-ceilinged basement will be dug about two feet lower to allow for rehearsal space and dressing rooms, as well as a pantry, an electronic workshop and control rooms for the church’s new elevator system.

There will be no special parking for the new center, the organizers said, as there’s no room for it around the church and local subway lines run underneath.  They noted, however, that they will be making arrangements with the local municipal parking lots, as the nearby Jamaica Multiplex movie theater lot, for guest parking during events at the center.

While each of the three organizations will be using the space for eight weeks per year each, Emerson said, the terms will most likely be held concurrently, allowing the center to be more available for public rental, which will be its sole source of revenue.

When the Jamaica Arts and Business Center project started, the capital expense estimate for the project was $3.3 million, according to Emerson.  That money was easily acquired, Emerson told the PRESS last year, most of it from the office of then-Borough President Claire Shulman.  But the project quickly grew to $5.5 million, and later, to about $11 million.

Emerson and Campos said this week that all of the capital budget has been collected, mostly from the Borough President and various City agencies, but Campos noted that some of that money could be cut under the mayor’s new plan to shrink the city’s budget.

“All capital projects throughout the city are being reviewed for cuts in January,” Campos said, noting that he hasn’t heard about cuts to the project.

Emerson said that the three managers of the project are ready to move ahead.

“We are in the final design process,” Emerson said.  “As soon as that’s approved, we’ll start bidding for the project.  We’re expecting to start doing actual work in February.”