SALT will try to raise funds to purchase its building, after West Pikeland officials put it up for bid
The fundraiser, started by three community members, has raised more than $60,000.
A black box theater, a proper box office, and a sizable costume department. Those are just a few of the visions SALT Performing Arts president Lauren McComas has for their building — if they can raise $2 million to buy it before the township sells it to someone else.
A groundswell of public support for the community theater, which has since 2014 had its roots in Chester Springs within West Pikeland’s municipal building at 1645 Art School Rd., served as the launching pad for a massive fundraising effort, which is seeking to drum up millions of dollars in the coming weeks.
The new push comes roughly a week after West Pikeland officials voted to put the property — which, in addition to SALT, houses the township’s municipal offices and the police department in a separate building — up for public bid. The bidding period is set to close in early December.
Started by several members, with SALT leadership’s blessing, the fundraiser has garnered more than $22,000 in just more than a day — about 1% of their overall goal. An “angel donor” is offering to match funds up to $50,000, according to the donation page.
“We feel very hopeful that there is a next chapter for SALT,” McComas said. “We believe that we would not have been brought this far and have grown this much only for it to then be over because of this. And we’re excited to see the community that makes up a community theater be the ones to save the day.”
The bid package, posted last week, does not require a purchaser to honor an existing license agreement with SALT, which invested roughly $400,000 in capital improvements in exchange for use of the space for 10 years at a fixed rent. The agreement was signed in 2023. Township officials said previously they had not planned to sell the property when they made the agreement with SALT.
SALT was offered the first-right-of-refusal for the property, but felt its resources were depleted after spending years fundraising for the renovations, McComas said. They hesitated to reach back out to the community for funds again, she said.
But three members involved with the theater company — as performers, production members, and parents of children involved — asked to help, and put together the fundraiser. Donations have ranged from less than $10 up to $5,000.
“We’re trying to engage the power of the people to move a mountain,” she said. “If we link arms on this, and if everybody were to give what they can, it could save SALT.”
The building’s previous owner, Historic Yellow Springs, said in a social media post that it did not have the financial means “necessary to meet the reported minimum asking price of $2 million along with the operating and maintenance expenses associated with such a large historic building.”
“We remain committed to exploring collaborative solutions with SALT Performing Arts, West Pikeland Township, and public, private, and governmental partners who share an interest in preserving the historic integrity and cultural vitality of this important site,” it wrote.
Since opening more than a decade ago, the theater has produced 90 main-stage productions, and had more than 14,000 children perform on stage through educational arts programs, she said.
SALT has community partnerships with Acting Antics, an all-abilities theater group; the Chester County Food Bank; the Domestic Violence Center of Chester County; and the VFW, busing unhoused veterans to the facility for private shows during the holidays and providing them with hot meals and necessities.
If SALT is able to buy the building, McComas envisions the theater working with other community organizations, depending on a show’s themes.
The back portion of the building, where the township has its offices and meeting room, could be turned into a black box theater, where they could do a play series — something different than their usual musical line-up, McComas said.
The space where the police currently reside could become a “beautiful costume department,” where SALT could loan materials to other theaters and schools.
“We definitely have a vision to make full use of all the spaces that exist there, if we are permitted that opportunity,” she said.
If they’re out-bid for the property, the funds raised gives SALT a “safety net” to explore other options, which “would also be a game changer for our future,” she said.
The township plans to use the funds from the sale of the current property to offset the cost of its purchase of 1001 Kimberton Rd., where it plans to relocate and grow its police department. The decision comes after the community voted in 2025 to save the police force from disbandment. The township is expected to close Nov. 13 on the new building, which it has already invested roughly $400,000 into with downpayment and due diligence fees.
The sale and proposed purchase has drawn pushback from the community, who at a recent meeting spoke for hours, decrying the decisions.
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