The Opera Company of North Carolina on Friday is moving to a Fayetteville Street storefront.

"We're on a mission to make opera not only a lot more visible, but a lot more accessible to people," says Frank Grebowski, the opera's general director.

That was harder to do from offices near Crabtree Valley Mall.

The new home at 414 Fayetteville St. will introduce the opera to pedestrians, who can watch rehearsals or street performances, and buy tickets to performances at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, which is a few blocks to the south. The company also plans to perform at the Sheraton hotel next door.

It's another sign that the $10 million the city spent on converting Fayetteville Street from a pedestrian mall to a main street, and more than $200 million pegged for a nearby convention center and hotel, are paying off.

But the move has as much to do with downtown's revival as it does with the opera's growth.

The company has bolstered its calendar of public events -- performances for the state government, at shopping centers and even college soccer games -- which allow people to see the opera without having to pay for a night on the town. And it expanded its season to three operas from two, which "separates the men from the boys in the opera world," Grebowski says.

The maturation also includes the downtown deal. Similar moves have helped operas in Charlotte and Nashville, Grebowski says. "The ones that are struggling are the ones that tend to be in offices that are a little out of the way. There comes a point in every company's life where it has to make that step, and it's a little bit scary, into the bigger public space."

It's not always an easy step for arts administrators to take. Rent is among their biggest expenses. And high-traffic space usually comes with a high price.

Arts organizations often operate on tight, donor-dependent budgets, which can limit the ability to splurge. So many organizations depend on landlords to donate space or offer cut rates, which can lead to tax breaks for the landlord.

Bobby Lewis, the opera's new landlord, is donating about $25,000 for interior construction at the 3,000-square-foot space. He also cut the rent by 20 percent to $13.50 per square foot.

He can expect a nice write-off. And he may get something more valuable from the deal: exposure.

"It gives our city the life we've been looking for," he says. "... That makes my, and other people's, properties more valuable."

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