With demolition almost complete, construction on the new Emporia Arts Council next to the Granada Theatre is moving ahead as planned, according to arts council director Melissa Windsor.
“Things are in place and we’re moving forward on construction,” Windsor said, “but the actual structure that you would see from the outside has not started yet.”
That phase will publicly kick off at 11 a.m. Monday with a groundbreaking ceremony at 815 Commercial St.
Construction on the arts center is expected to take 12 to 15 months, and so far there have been no delays, Windsor said.
“Everything’s going as planned,” she said. “Construction is right on time.”
The new building will be a 16,000 square-foot, two-story structure at the site of the former Dayton’s Toy and Hobby Shop and Tallgrass Art and Frame. The center will contain classrooms, galleries, a retail store, three art studios, a library, a kiln, pottery wheels, a ceramic work area and a 130-seat theatre.
After a three-year fundraising campaign, the council in September reached its goal of raising $2.8 million for the new center. Plans for the center were released in August 2008.