Woodbury Council Approves Site Plan For Arts Center

Almost a week after the District 833 school board put its for a new arts center in Woodbury, the city council followed suit.

The Woodbury City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved the site plan for the Merrill Community Arts Center, a 10,000-square-foot, $2.5 million facility that will be built on the campus.

Groundbreaking is expected sometime this summer, said Michelle Witte, vice president of the Arts Connection, the group that will manage the two-story building.

The arts center’s primary users will be and the East Metro Symphony Orchestra, Witte said, though several other organizations will also have access to the space—for everything from book signings to school programs to art displays.

“It’s really an opportunity to showcase the artists in our community,” she said.

The structure will built between the high school and its football field, Community Development Director Dwight Picha told the council. The exterior of the brick and glass building will match the look of the school, he said.

The arts center will be available to all nonprofit arts groups within the South Washington County Schools boundaries, including Community Education, Witte said. “This is a community asset,” she said.

The school district will maintain the building, and ticket sales will help cover the costs of running the arts center, which will feature a 150-seat black box theater.

Plans for the arts center have been in the works for six years, and City Administrator Clint Gridley said it’s been “pretty incredible” to see the process come together. He also lauded the foresight of district officials who built East Ridge with the intent to eventually house an arts center on the grounds.

The bulk of the funding for the project—about $2.3 million—comes from the estate of late Woodbury resident Dorothy K. Merrill. (For a story on Merrill, click .)

Witte told Patch that bidding for the project recently opened, and stakeholders will have a better idea of the final cost as bids come in and further details are worked out; it could be close to $3 million. Private fundraising efforts are still underway, she said.

Permit Fees Waived

By a 4-1 vote, the city council opted to waive $44,000 in permit fees for the arts center’s construction.

Councilman Christopher Burns was the lone dissenter. He asked staff during a discussion if the city had waived similar fees for churches or other charitable organizations.

Picha said over the past six years the city has waived fees for affordable housing projects but not churches.

Gridley noted that the arts center will be open to the broader public, not a specific group like a congregation. It has been part of the plans throughout to waive the fees, he said, and it’s a small way the city can assist the project.