MONROE - The Monroe Arts Center and its general contractors, CG Schmidt Construction of Milwaukee, have sketched out a timeline for the new 10,000-square-foot, two-story addition.
Once hoping to start building this spring, the MAC board paused over the winter to make sure everything they needed, wanted and could have was included in the $2.7 million budget it was eyeing.
Their approval of the budget in April was contingent upon the inclusion of a basement, and the center has been working with CG Schmidt to get that aspect into the plans.
Richard Daniels, MAC executive director, confirmed Tuesday there will be a basement.
The basement is to house the utility mechanics of the building, as well as to be something the center "can grow into" for eventual expansion, such as a pottery studio or to maintain a special collection, Daniels said.
The new timeline, developed just this week, has 2014 as the year to get architectural drawings done, the final design finished and construction bids readied. If all goes according to plan, MAC can break ground and complete eight to 10 months of construction in 2015.
"We would like, hope, to open on New Year's Day 2016," Daniels said.
The arts center is "still in fundraising mode," Daniels added.
Not only is the center raising funds for the new addition, but it is also preparing for costs to rehabilitate sections of the historic Methodist church, which it calls home, and to make it functional with the new addition.
Wesley Hall will eventually be removed, and its events and function moved to the lower level of the church. Daniels said the old hall, built in the 1950s, has outlived its usefulness and would require "an enormous amount of money to repair."
That area, along 13th Avenue, will become the new parking lot for the center; the new addition will be located on most of the current parking lot along 14th Avenue.
The new building is expected to have classrooms, a gift shop for local artists, as well as gathering, work and meeting spaces.
The church and neighboring parsonage, both designed by Edward Townsend Mix, are on the National Register of Historic Places. The church's corner stone was laid in 1869, and the church was completed in 1887.
Once hoping to start building this spring, the MAC board paused over the winter to make sure everything they needed, wanted and could have was included in the $2.7 million budget it was eyeing.
Their approval of the budget in April was contingent upon the inclusion of a basement, and the center has been working with CG Schmidt to get that aspect into the plans.
Richard Daniels, MAC executive director, confirmed Tuesday there will be a basement.
The basement is to house the utility mechanics of the building, as well as to be something the center "can grow into" for eventual expansion, such as a pottery studio or to maintain a special collection, Daniels said.
The new timeline, developed just this week, has 2014 as the year to get architectural drawings done, the final design finished and construction bids readied. If all goes according to plan, MAC can break ground and complete eight to 10 months of construction in 2015.
"We would like, hope, to open on New Year's Day 2016," Daniels said.
The arts center is "still in fundraising mode," Daniels added.
Not only is the center raising funds for the new addition, but it is also preparing for costs to rehabilitate sections of the historic Methodist church, which it calls home, and to make it functional with the new addition.
Wesley Hall will eventually be removed, and its events and function moved to the lower level of the church. Daniels said the old hall, built in the 1950s, has outlived its usefulness and would require "an enormous amount of money to repair."
That area, along 13th Avenue, will become the new parking lot for the center; the new addition will be located on most of the current parking lot along 14th Avenue.
The new building is expected to have classrooms, a gift shop for local artists, as well as gathering, work and meeting spaces.
The church and neighboring parsonage, both designed by Edward Townsend Mix, are on the National Register of Historic Places. The church's corner stone was laid in 1869, and the church was completed in 1887.