Supporters and well-wishers attended a Friday afternoon ribbon cutting and naming ceremony at the Dahl Education Complex to celebrate completion of the first part of the Dahl Arts Center renovation project.
Friday's event also served as the start of the final phase of the Dahl's capital campaign to raise $500,000 for furnishings - such amenities as portable stages and risers, lighting and sound systems and interactive displays.
The education complex, formerly known as the Montana Dakota Utilities building at the corner of Seventh and Kansas City streets, actually opened last December. But executive director Linda Anderson said the Dahl wanted to wait until the complex had a full schedule of activities going on before scheduling the ribbon cutting.
"Now, we're totally furnished, and everything is up and running. We're really busy with arts events and receptions and galleries and meetings, and we wanted to make sure we were fully operational before we kicked it off," Anderson said.
Also on Friday, the Dahl held a ceremony honoring the late Bruce H. Lien, a prominent businessman who died in February 2007, by christening the new front gallery space the Bruce H. Lien Cultural Cafe and Gallery. Lien's name will also appear on the children's interactive gallery located inside the original Dahl building on the south side of the campus.
"He was a great admirer of what Art Dahl did, when Art Dahl gave money to the city for the art center. This is a nice gift to continue that legacy," Anderson said.
Construction of the $6.75 million project is well over half complete. About half of the overall project cost was paid for with private donations; the remainder came from $3.25 million in Vision 2012 sales-tax funds from the city.
The first phase, started in April 2007 to completely renovate and remodel the old MDU building, was finished last November.
The Dahl Education Complex is a fully equipped arts education facility that includes painting, drawing and pottery classrooms, artist and arts organization offices, meeting rooms and small spaces for performances and galleries.
Work is in full swing to renovate the original Dahl building and build a central event center between the two existing buildings. When complete, the Dahl will be one unified building.
Anderson said that this week, she watched a crane hoist an air conditioning unit on top of the event center, and on Friday, workers were pouring the concrete floor of the event center.
"It is amazing how fast it goes," Anderson said. "Everything is actually a little bit ahead of schedule, and we're still on budget, so we're really happy. The public has a lot to look forward to.'
The grand opening of the entire facility is scheduled for January 2009, though the project is expected to be substantially completed by late October this year. After the contractors are done, Anderson said, specialized equipment including stages, the lighting grid and technical equipment will be installed.
Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com
