Thursday, June 4th, 2015
St. Marys arts center looking for new home
By Jared Mauch
ST. MARYS - Officials of a local arts center are seeking a new, permanent location after their lease was terminated by new owners.
The building at 142 E. Spring St. that housed the Collective Center of Arts Place was purchased in March by Thomas and Elaine Slife from Thomas Durnell.
Arts Place officials on April 1 received notice the new owner was ending the lease for the 1,500-square-foot space and they were asked to move out by May 15, executive director Eric Rogers said. Arts Place officials later were granted an extension. Most supplies were placed into storage by May 29, he said.
The Slifes could not be reached this morning for comment.
St. Marys center director Mary Hone said she is working with public libraries in Celina, St. Marys, Minster and New Bremen to use those sites for people to register for classes.
Rogers said he hopes to find a permanent home for the center by the end of summer.
"We hope to find a new location in St. Marys. It's been a good central location for our classes so far," he said.
A new location could be a building at 207 E. Spring St., he added. The St. Marys Community Improvement Corp. is trying to procure the building and lease the ground floor to Arts Place, CIC president Kraig Noble explained.
The CIC plans to ask for a $130,000 loan from the city in an emergency ordinance to be presented at Monday's city council meeting. The funds would be used to help purchase the $150,000 building, Noble said this morning.
Noble said he hopes the plan works and Arts Place can move in within a month.
"It will be a good space, a bigger area for them," he said.
Arts Place since 2012 paid $350 per month in rent, plus utilities for the site they recently left.
The Collective Center previously was based at 138 E. Spring St., and prior to that in a house, and has been part of Arts Place since 2005. The organization moved into a larger space with each change, Rogers said.
"Wherever we go, we want it to be a place where we can stay for years to come," he said.
Classes in St. Marys accommodated three to 15 people, totaling about 800 participants per month, Rogers said. Hundreds of students participate in the center's annual Arts in the Parks program, he added.
"It could draw a lot of traffic with it being downtown," Rogers said.
Public support likely will be needed in the future for moving and renovation costs, Rogers added.
Arts Place has two other locations: the Blackford County Arts Center in Hartford City, Ind., and the program's headquarters in Portland, Ind.
Updated information will be posted on the Collective Center's Facebook page. The group also can be contacted at 419-394-0707 or by email at mhone@artsland.org.
