-
Dec 10, 2007 9:36 am US/Central
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
Mpls. Arts Co. To Build In Minot
MINOT, N.D. (AP) ―
Business leaders are excited about plans for a new downtown center for artists.
Artspace, of Minneapolis, has chosen land now being used for parking, to build a new residential and commercial center.
Artspace will complement downtown shops, said George Slanger, president of Minot's Downtown Business and Professional Association.
"It's just an exciting and creative place to be," he said. "This is just going to multiply that by several fold."
The four-story building will have more than 50,000 square feet. The second, third and fourth floors will hold living quarters and studios for 26 artists.
Preliminary plans call for private roof gardens, and a community roof and sculpture garden.
Artspace plans to start construction in the spring of 2009, and hopes to have financing in place by next spring. It has estimated the cost at around $10 million.
The Artspace center would be the first major building built in the immediate downtown since the Wells Fargo bank, built in 1976.
"We are kind of excited about it," said Orlin Backes, chairman of Minot's Artspace Committee. "They said they were going to make it a special building for Minot, and it's going to be special with the layout. They have done a wonderful job."
Minot's Artspace Committee has raised about $390,000, including a $50,000 grant from the city.
Fundraising had stopped last March after plans by Artspace to join Minot State University in a Centers of Excellence project failed to win state support. The Centers of Excellence program is designed to promote economic development through university partnerships.
Backes said Artspace has a new plan and the Downtown Business and Professional Association will help raise money.
A survey of artists in a region found at least 40 artists from North Dakota and neighboring states interested in renting from Artspace in Minot, said Terri Aldrich, a member of the Minot Area Council of the Arts and Artspace Committee.
"We knew there was a tremendous energy from the arts community, not only here in Minot but across the state," Aldrich said.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)