Tempe Urban Development: MADCAP Theaters

In tough economic times, it's important to make the most of what you have, to reuse, recycle and rediscover. it takes a little effort, but the results of inventorying your assets can be pretty amazing.

The Harkins Centerpoint Theatre on Mill and Seventh Street is a great example of Tempe ingenuity mixed with economic effort. The leaders of Downtown Tempe Community, with sponsors like New Times, have remodeled the two-story movie house on Mill. It is now an inexpensive space designed for local performers to launch their careers. The theaters also act as low-cost meeting halls.

There's a large theater left to beautify -- a 450 seat pavilion that would cost $7,500 for an investor to name after himself. Renting space costs just a couple hundred dollars and a portion of ticket sales. That's quite a bargain when most space that size costs more than a grand.