When I began my career working for Grass Valley Group back in the 80's, my friend and colleague Doug Morgan thought up this company slogan: "Performance and Quality, the P's and Q's of our Success." These words adorned the hallways as a reminder of the pride we took in our team and in the products we built. It's hard to match the sense of satisfaction that comes from being part of a successful team and as we know, team attitude reflects leadership. This maxim rings true at the Crown Point Events Complex construction site, InConcert Sierra's (ICS) massive concert hall, black box and conference center project, where two extremely talented leaders keep everything running like a well-oiled machine. Marc Nelson, site superintendent and program manager for Sierra Foothills Construction Company (SFCC), and Josh Grandell, owner of Clean Cut Construction, are longtime friends and have worked together numerous times. It's fitting that they are joining together again on this very significant project for ICS.
 

Read More

To a theater person, a “black box” is a little slice of heaven because it’s a flexible space in which one can create any type of performance art. A stage can be placed anywhere in the room, including the center. Seating can be in rows, circles or on two, three or four sides. Lighting can be focused anywhere, and the only backdrops or set pieces seen are what the presenter chooses, since the walls are—yes—just black.

The Grass Valley and Nevada City area is blessed to have a historic, dedicated, traditional theater space, the Nevada Theatre. Smaller shows, when producers want the capability to create different arrangements, are being performed in several local spaces, but none have the ceiling height, seating flexibility and lighting components that can be configured exactly the way the designer chooses. That’s about to change.

​

Read More

It was raining, it was cold outside, and it was a construction site, but nothing could dampen the warmth, energy and excitement inside, generated by the Raising the Roof event at the new Crown Point Events Complex on Saturday, February 17, hosted by the building’s owner, InConcert Sierra (ICS). The building, purchased by ICS in March 2023, will be an economic, social and artistic boon to the Nevada County community.

More than 150 people attended the invitation-only event, including people who had already made a financial pledge towards the project, those who had volunteered or worked on the project, and those who previously expressed an interest in utilizing the building’s resources once it is completed.

​

Read More

A week ago Saturday I visited the construction site of the Crown Point Event Complex off Whispering Pines Road. What a wonderful addition this will be to our community! The building was purchased by InConcert Sierra to be the new home for their chamber music performances. The concert hall will be beautiful. What surprised me most was what else there was. There will be a black box theater for stage performances. Included in my tour was a dance group interested in seeing what the space would be like for their shows. There will also be a big convention room with a full kitchen. Imagine how many of our local businesses will benefit from out of the county companies meeting there.

​

Read More

When InConcert Sierra purchased a large 42,000 square foot building in the Whispering Pines business area of Grass Valley last year to repurpose for a “state-of-the-art” concert hall, there was never a question of who they should enlist for the reconstruction. Keoni Allen’s Grass Valley company, Sierra Foothills Construction Company, had designed the building in 1991 and built it in early 1992 as a claim center for Blue Shield of California. Because hundreds of employees were needed for the claim center, Keoni made sure there was a huge parking lot. After Blue Shield vacated the building, it was ultimately sold to the Grass Valley tech company and Keoni was asked to remodel the building for them in 2014. The remodel was a challenge because he was asked not to disturb the 100 employees working in the building and to complete the work in 120 days! Keoni chuckled as he remarked, “Yeah, that’s the kind of stuff that makes it fun and interesting.”

​

Read More

What’s going on at 125 Crown Point Court in the Whispering Pines business park? Well, 2023 has been an eventful year thus far. In March, InConcert Sierra (ICS) purchased the 42,000 square foot building formerly occupied by Grass Valley Group, to create the Crown Point Events Complex, a venue that includes a 540-seat acoustic concert hall, a 150-seat multi-configurable black box theater, and a conference center that will seat 300 at banquet tables. Within 37 hours of closing escrow, Mother Nature brought us an unanticipated challenge in the form of a partial roof collapse due to unprecedented snowfall and accumulation. With an outpouring of community support, rapid civic response, and a concerted effort by Sierra Foothill Construction Company (SFCC), C&D Contractors, and the ICS design team, progress since March has been nothing short of astounding. The collapsed areas have been demolished, the roof infrastructure has been reinforced beyond current building codes, and renovation of the entire facility is underway, with a grand opening planned for Fall 2024. Make no mistake, this is a large-scale effort that requires careful planning and coordination. One aspect of this process that goes largely unnoticed, but is nonetheless a key priority, is the reuse and recycling of materials to promote sustainable development.

Read More

InConcert Sierra (ICS) officially broke ground on their 42,000 sq ft facility in the Whispering Pines area on Tuesday. The new venue is slated for an opening in the fall of 2024, with an acoustic concert hall seating 520 guests, a conference center able to accomodate 300 participants and a black box theater for 150 audience members.
InConcert Sierra's programs.

ICS’ Executive Director Julie Hardin welcomed community members to the construction site and Board President Hindi Greenberg thanked the project team, the contractors and the staff of ICS.

Ken Hardin, ICS’ Artistic Director and board member Monroe Lovelady serve as the project’s co-leads. Grass Valley Mayor Jan Arbuckle, Nevada County Supervisor and ICS board member Heidi Hall, Nevada County Supervisor Lisa Swarthout, ERC representative Gil Matthew and Yolanda Cookson, representing Assemblymember Megan Dahle rounded out the speakers at the event.

Read More

InConcert Sierra (ICS) hosted a “groundbreaking” ceremony this past Tuesday, August 29, in celebration of the renovations for the new concert venue. Approximately 150 community members attended the event.

Read More

Things are coming right along at the top of Crown Point Circle, where InConcert Sierra is well underway in its plans to transform the nearly 42,00 square foot building into its next concert venue. In addition, plans will include a conference center capable of hosting 300 guests, a full kitchen, and office spaces for InConcert’s staff.

On March 4 of this year, InConcert signed the papers to procure the property which overlooks Grass Valley. 24 hours after the ink dried, several feet of snow fell on the building and collapsed the structure of the roof. What could be considered a major setback has set InConcert into motion, propelling them to what they hope will be a beacon for event spaces in the Grass Valley/Nevada City area.

Read More

Unfortunately, many businesses suffered through the snowstorms that plagued Nevada County this winter.

However, very few have a story quite like that of InConcert Sierra, who on March 3 closed on the purchase of a $2 million building on Crown Point Court in Grass Valley — which is intended to serve as a community conference center and concert hall — amassing nearly 42,000 square feet.

Less than a day after the papers were signed Mother Nature made her presence known and dropped feet of heavy snow on the structure leading its roof to collapse.

“It was about 24 hours after we purchased it,” said Barbara Drew, Board Supervisor of InConcert Sierra. “We bought in on a Friday and it happened that weekend. And it just happened to be discovered; there was no one working on the weekend but there was a guy from Grass Valley Group who wanted to use the shower there. He liked the shower better here than the one at his home. And he came in on a Sunday morning and noticed that the roof collapsed. We said, ‘Are you kidding me? We just bought it!’”

Read More

InConcert Sierra has been working on creating the Crown Point Events Complex that will include an elegant acoustic concert hall, black box theater, and conference center. The building to be renovated is a 41,000 square foot building in the Whispering Pines Business Park.

On Friday, March 3, InConcert Sierra celebrated the close of escrow on the building. On Saturday, March 4, sometime during the night, the building suffered a partial roof collapse estimated to be about 2400 square feet or 5% of the roof area.

There were no injuries nor was anyone in the building at the time of collapse. The building has been secured and the city, county, and ICS contractors have been engaged.

Read More

“Some dreams are worth chasing—no matter how long it takes to bring them to life.”

So begins the background letter drafted by InConcert Sierra when announcing their intentions to open a concert hall and conference center in the Whispering Pines business park area.

In a meeting to be held Tuesday evening, Grass Valley’s city council will meet to discuss the planned project which InConcert’s executive director, Julie Hardin, said would serve as not only a space for music and music education but would offer full event facilities including a commercial kitchen.

“It’s the biggest project as far as the arts go,” said Hardin. “This one is multi-faceted and has the potential to impact our community.”

Read More