Finally in the bank; Officials announce rental agreement to open downtown arts center
Published 6:00 am Friday, April 18, 2014
Jennie Knoebel, executive director of the Austin Area Commission for the Arts, holds the signed lease agreement after it was given to her by bank building owner Patrick Bradley Thursday. Knoebel was able to announce that the bank building was now officially the home of the Austin ArtWorks Center. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The Austin ArtWorks Center is finally home in downtown Austin.
Austin Area Commission for the Arts officials announced Thursday night they had come to a rental agreement with property owner Patrick Bradley to open the ArtWorks Center inside the bank building at 300 N. Main St.
“This is a moment that we have been in long anticipation for,” said Jennie Knoebel, executive director of the AACA.
Austin Area Commission for the Arts executive director Jennie Knoebel holds up the “Space for Rent” sign that hung in the window of the bank building downtown. Knoebel and the AACA announced a rental agreement with building owner Patrick Bradley Thursday.
The announcement has been months in the making, as AACA officials have worked to use the bank building since September. The AACA had discussed moving administrative offices out of the Paramount Theatre to another building as far back as 2012, but plans to create a downtown arts center didn’t come together until last fall.
Since then, area arts volunteers and officials have worked to secure the building. The former Austin Area Arts Center decided last fall to partner and be absorbed by the AACA, which means the arts center’s former location at the Oak Park Mall will close over the summer as the ArtWorks Center takes shape. ArtWorks Center classes could start as soon as July at the new building or at the Paramount.
AACA officials were pleased the new center is finally taking shape.
Glasses of champagne were raised Thursday as Austin Area Commission for the Arts Executive Director Jennie Knoebel issued a toast in celebration of the lease agreement.
“It’s brought so many new people together in Austin to work on this project,” said Dave Sylte, AACA board president.
ArtWorks Center officials say The Joseph Company will begin remodeling the space in May and have a grand opening in August during the Austin ArtWorks Festival. Knoebel said the center has raised about $350,000 of the $600,000 necessary to finish the project, with $325,000 coming from The Hormel Foundation earlier this year.
To that end, AACA officials announced a “fast and furious” fundraising campaign.
“We’re going to call some private donations in and people can donate online,” Knoebel said.
Residents can donate to the ArtWorks Center online at www.austinareaarts.org or through a “check valet service” where AACA officials will pick up checks from residents at their home or work.
Though the ArtWorks Center will open later this summer, the AACA won’t rest for long on its accomplishments. The group is continuing to meet with area organizations about the upcoming Paramount expansion, which was announced in 2012. Knoebel said a fundraising campaign is still in the works, but the AACA wants to get community buy-in from other area organizations to make sure as many people as possible can benefit from the expansion.
“We want to have as many partners as possible to be a part of the expansion,” Knoebel said.