Jack Kagey was an influential figure in the early
development of the city of Hollywood. He was the top sales manager of Joseph W.
Young’s Hollywood Land and Water Company. Hollywood was part of Young’s vision
of building a dream city during the 1920s and the businessman had hired the
architectural firm of Rubush & Hunger, who was creating memorable designs
for Carl Fisher in Miami Beach.
What Kagey left behind for the city was his showpiece home,
a dramatic design by Rubush & Hunger, created in the Mediterranean Revival
style.
“Kagey was the best salesman, so he got the pick of the
litter and chose the best spot and built the most beautiful house next to
Young’s own house,” says Elisa “Alex” Iglesias, the
architectural support services manager for the city of Hollywood, and herself
an 11-year Hollywood resident.
Kagey wanted a Rubush & Hunger home, too, and, in 1924,
the Mediterranean Revival design was completed.
“The home and location are so important for our
city,” said Iglesias, who is the project manager for the construction of a
new arts education addition that will adjoin the Kagey Home at 1650 Harrison
St., which houses galleries and administrative offices of the Art and Culture
Center/Hollywood (ACCH).
“Architecturally the design of the addition is way
different than what you see most of the time. We used to have beautiful
architecture and craftsman style houses and we kind of lost that,” she
said.
On Tuesday, April 30, 2024, the city hosted the official
groundbreaking ceremony for the 5,400-square-foot state-of-the-art expansion,
which was funded in part through a General
Obligation Bond (GO Bond) approved by Hollywood voters on March 12, 2019,
during a special election. The GO Bond is funding a variety of public
improvement projects totaling $165 million covering citywide improvements in
three categories, according to the city. Under one of the categories,
“Parks, Open Space, Recreational and Cultural Facilities,” the city
contributed $2.5 million to the construction of the ACCH multi-disciplinary
arts education.
The ACCH also added to the bond money by raising funds,
along with receiving grants from Broward County and the state of Florida,
according to Nicole Heren, deputy director, design and construction at the city
of Hollywood. “You can imagine, however, between 2018 and 2024 all the
things that happened in the world – COVID, civil unrest, wars – things that
drove construction prices way up; plus this is a significant design,” she
added.
That’s when the city committed additional grant funds from
its Commercial Property Improvement Program (CPIP), according to Heren. The program
is funded with Community Development Block Grant funds awarded to the City of
Hollywood by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“The city said, ‘Look, we’re going to bridge the gap
between the original contribution, what the ACCH was able to get, and the two
grants from the county and state, and we’re going to put CIP dollars in to make
sure that the project is whole.”
Heren said she believes that the expansion of arts and
programming at the ACCH will act as a catalyst for the entire city of
Hollywood, not just in District 1 where the new construction is taking place.
“What I’ve seen in talking to the City Commission about
the project, getting approvals for the design . . .it’s brought a lot of
discussion about arts and arts programming at all of our community centers . . .,”
said Heren.
The new arts education wing, designed by Brooks + Scarpa,
based in Hawthorne, Calif., will bookend the existing center and will connect
to the west side of the Kagey Home creating a “modern link.” It will
house classrooms and studios for dance, music, visual arts and new media. In
addition, an expanded reception and shared lobby space will open onto a new
central courtyard, “blending the historic structure with the new addition,”
according to the designers.
“There are so many things now in Hollywood that are
bringing people downtown – arts events and the art and cultural programming at
the ACCH – all of that helps to bring residents to the city center. That is
putting us on the map now more than ever and it’s important for the city
because of the vision that Joseph Young had. I do think that he would be proud
to see where we are and how far we have come,” said Iglesias.
The new contemporary wing at ACCH is expected to be completed
in April of 2025.
This story was produced by Broward Arts Journalism Alliance
(BAJA), an independent journalism program of the Broward County Cultural
Division. Visit ArtsCalendar.com for more stories about the
arts in South Florida.
