text: The Houston Ballet plans to consolidate all of its offices and rehearsal space, as well as its Ben Stevenson Academy, in a proposed $53 million building downtown.
  The building would be on Smith Street, catercorner to the Wortham Theater Center, where the ballet presents six programs and a monthlong run of The Nutcracker each year. It also rents studio and office space at the Wortham, while its main offices and rehearsal studios are at 1912 W. Gray, near River Oaks.
  Plans call for an elevated skywalk to connect the proposed 120,000-square-foot project to the Wortham. No construction or completion dates have been set, pending the outcome of fundraising, ballet managing director Cecil C. Conner Jr. said Tuesday.
  "One of the great benefits in moving downtown near the Wortham would be being in close proximity to the Wortham all the time instead of having to go back and forth between two locations," Conner said.
  The Houston Ballet Foundation, which operates the company, owns half of the block bounded by Smith, Louisiana, Preston and Congress. The foundation purchased the entire block in May 2007, then sold the unneeded eastern half to a developer. A parking lot now occupies the block.
  The West Gray location, which the ballet has owned since 1982, also houses the ballet's wardrobe shop and offices for its music staff, while two townhouses on nearby Dunlavy are home to out-of-town academy students. They also would move to the downtown facility, while the ballet would vacate two studios plus office space it currently leases in the Wortham. The West Gray site would be sold.
  Houston Ballet officials have been working with the Houston office of the national architectural firm Gensler for more than a year on the design of the building. The work is still in progress, Conner said.
  "It all depends on whether you can raise the money and the cost of steel tomorrow or a year from now," he said of the design. Conner declined to say how much money has been raised for the project.
  The Houston Ballet is in discussions with other arts organizations, including the Society for the Performing Arts, about leasing space in its proposed facility, but has no firm agreements. More tenants would increase the building's size, Conner said.
  Other large performing-arts groups have offices and rehearsal spaces in the theaters where they perform: the Alley Theatre in its own home, the Houston Symphony and SPA in Jones Hall, and Houston Grand Opera in the Wortham.
  "When your offices are not on-site, and you have specific details to take care of, it's tough operationally," said June Christensen, executive director of Society for the Performing Arts.
  Owning a building that consolidates operations is typical for major American ballet companies, said Andrea Snyder, executive director of Dance/USA, a service organization for U.S. dance companies. "The companies with the largest budgets either have them or are well on the way."
  The Houston Ballet is one of the 10 largest ballet companies in the United States in size of budget, said John Munger , Dance/USA's director of research and information. It flip-flops with Pacific Northwest Ballet for fifth and six spots.
  Contemporary dance and mid-size ballet ensembles likewise are striving to own buildings where they can rehearse and operate, Snyder said.
  Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has a showcase building near New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts that the company bills as "the largest dedicated space for dance in the country." Mark Morris Dance Group also has a notable building near the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where it performs.
  Owning a building allows a company to control special needs more easily, Munger said. It's easier to install and maintain flooring, mirrors, rehearsal bars, temperature and other items specific to ballet ensembles than when renting.
  Established in 1955, Houston Ballet Foundation immediately opened its dance academy. It supported numerous groups' performances until it established the permanent professional company in 1969. It has a strong record of financial stability, balancing its budget since the 1994-95 season, Conner said. The budget for the 2007-08 season was $17.3 million. The endowment stood at $55.8 million on June 30.
  Step inside this beautiful period cottage - which is only a few miles from Newcastle - Chronicle Live
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