BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — In a “journey into a wondrous land of imagination,” The Agency, in partnership with the Rod Serling Memorial Foundation, the Serling Family, and others are looking into developing the Rod Serling “Dimensions of Imagination” Center for Media and the Arts. 

The center would honor “The Twilight Zone” creator whose hometown was Binghamton.

Venue Strategies is conducting the feasibility study, which is phase one of the proposed development. The study will include a definition of the overall concept, site and comparable facility analysis, design and construction cost estimates, and also identify prospective avenues for financial support.

Stacey Duncan, CEO of the Leadership Alliance — the umbrella organization for The Agency & Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce — said the partners are in the process of putting together the steering committee for this first phase and expect to begin meeting after Thanksgiving. The Binghamton City School District will be part of the committee, as will members of the Serling family.

According to Anne Serling, her father was famous for saying, “Everybody has to have a hometown, Binghamton’s mine.” She shared that every summer, her family would visit their cottage on Cayuga Lake and her father would drive back to Binghamton and visit the places from his youth.

“There is something poignant about this Serling Center to be [built] in his honor, in a place he loved so much and would return to even in his writing,” she said in a release. “On behalf of my family, thank you for your respect of my father, for your belief in his goals, and for bringing him home.”

Duncan anticipates the feasibility study will take between 90 and 120 days and will focus on honing the vision of the project.

“We’re super excited to really dive in,” she says. “We’re kind of looking at it as a blank canvass.”

The idea for the center came organically from conversations between Duncan, the principals at Venue, and others about how to do something the likes of the Lucy-Desi Museum, the National Comedy Center, or the Mark Twain Center to honor Serling and his Binghamton roots.

The common thread through those conversations was that it had to be in Binghamton, Duncan says. “It’s a creative, innovative, quirky place,” she says, just like Serling’s “The Twilight Zone” show.

The center’s goal will be to preserve Serling’s legacy, honor his work, and support future generations of artists and writers. The hope is that it will provide a sense of community for the county’s vibrant arts sector and also prove to be a major tourist destination.

Officials expect a substantial potential economic impact for the project. Binghamton is located about five hours from most major northeastern metro areas, putting more than 115 million people within a day’s drive to Binghamton. The indirect economic impact will result in more activity at restaurants, hotels, and other key tourism-adjacent services.

The Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation, along with the city of Binghamton and Broome County, are providing financial support for the feasibility study. “We believe this project has the potential to catalyze the ongoing renaissance we’re seeing across the Greater Binghamton area, and we’re excited to partner with the IDA, Broome County, and others to pursue this significant opportunity for our community,” Amanda McIntyre, executive director of the Klee Foundation, said in a statement.

Duncan expects the second phase of the project to include developing ideas for what the facility should look like, where in the city to locate it, and how to pay for it.

“We think this could have a transformative impact on the state,” she says, and that might open the door to state funding. The committee will also likely look at sites that are eligible for public financing tools as well as look into private investments. Duncan fully expects the final project to be a public/private partnership.

Binghamton Mayor Jared M. Kraham said he has long been a fan of Rod Serling. 

“Many people don’t know that Rod Serling grew up near Recreation Park in Binghamton,” he said.

State Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo praised the effort as one she long thought was needed. “As a lifelong fan of the “Twilight Zone,” I always believed other fans of the show would come to the region if we had a dedicated tourist destination. I am thrilled that we are finally undertaking a feasibility study for the Rod Serling Multi-Media Center for the Arts. The possibilities for what this could mean for our area are endless.”