LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
CAMP Profile: |
by Fay Jacobs |
Bob Hotes' Vision Echoes the Work of Our Community
In the year before last June, dozens of community members sat down at several well-attended public meetings and described their ideasfrom wild to practicalfor a CAMP Rehoboth community center. From those collected ideas came the will to move forward, purchase the property at 39 Baltimore Avenue and start raising money to build the community center. Two years ago, the first annual Founders' Circle event launched the fundraising effort and in the years since over $400,000 has been pledged. On the strength of the community's support, the CAMP Rehoboth Board of Directors, after an intense bid process, selected an architectural firm to work on plans for the building. Having served on the selection committee, I can joyously report that the firm of DPK&A, led by project manager Bob Hotes, is ready to get to work on just the kind of versatile space and multi-use building wishfully envisioned at those Saturday morning meetings a couple of years ago. From the gallery space to the library to the large multipurpose room and meeting spaces, the vision architect Bob Hotes proposes echoes many of the dreams members of the community wanted the community center to become. Professionally, Bob is a Princeton University graduate, with a degree in engineering and applied sciences. He went on to the University of Pennsylvania where he received his Masters in architecture along with a certificate in historic preservation. He also received special training internationally in Moscow and Rome and in 2000 won the prestigious AIA Philadelphia Young Architect Award. Bob, a registered architect in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, can't wait to work with CAMP Rehoboth on it's community center building. Maybe, it's because Bob is not only an experienced architect with a solid professional resume but because he too, is a member of this community. Although he now lives and works in Philadelphia, Bob has been coming to Rehoboth since 1966, when his family moved to Newark. Some of his earliest childhood memories include time on the boardwalk, at Funland and at the old Dinner Bell Inn. He recalls the days when almost all of Baltimore Avenue was residential and there was very little commercial activity out on Route One. Over the years, his family continued to rent here and by 1987 they purchased a Spring Lake vacation home. Bob has been a visitor and weekender since, participated in much of the social and volunteer life of the community, and is thrilled to be able to work with CAMP on the Community Center Project. "I'm very excited to be able to do this, first, because I'm very attached to Rehoboth. But secondly, it's wonderful to be able to contribute to the community using my professional abilities." While there are no actual blueprints yet for the community center, those visions voiced by the many people who came together to launch this project have been heard loud and clear. The courtyard will remain, as the building that now houses the CAMP office becomes a three-story building with a basement. "Baltimore Avenue is part downtown commercial area and part residential neighborhood, which allows for the cottage style architecture combined with a homey and inviting interior. We will incorporate sunlight and perhaps a wide, open stairway to the second floor," along with an elevator to meet accessibility requirements. "In my mind, the plan is fairly simple," Bob says. "I see the building front facing Baltimore Avenue, with perhaps a porch or other type of welcoming entryway. It was a retail space, and has large windows and nice transparencybut as we go further back into the room, there will be more privacy. Because of size constraints flexibility is needed for the space with a mix of public and private areas." Mirroring the suggestions of so many people in the community, Bob feels that his firm can design a flexible property with gallery space, a second floor all purpose space that might accommodate up to 200 people, and smaller offices and meeting rooms on the third floor. Visions of a library, kitchen and meeting rooms are all possible. "Because of the setback requirements for the building, we could have a porch on the first floor with a deck above it," says Bob. Bob's career has included a variety of projects, from rural structures for the park service to lots of urban historic preservation projects with his current firm. "I come from a background where the environment is important to me, and I design projects so that we can incorporate as much natural sunlight as we can." As for the bigger implications for the community going out for brick and mortar, Bob says "It's exciting to me that we will have a place to physically house everything that's going on. It's a big effort, but it's a statement of where this community is in Rehoboth." Bob will be introducing the community to DPK&A and its many successful projects at the May 31 Black & White Beach Ball. From there, he will be taking his cue from the fundraising effort, begin working on the schematic design, and present the kind of drawings and renderings "that will really get people excited." People are already excited, judging from the comments around town and the checks coming in. But we've got about $600,000 yet to raise. Then, all the folks who took the time to provide input, and all the folks who will be able to use and enjoy the space will be able to see their vision come to life at 39 Baltimore Avenue, the heart of the community. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 13, No. 6, May 30, 2003 |