Colorado Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee Approves Performing and Visual Arts Center for Colorado State

The Joint Budget Committee of the Colorado Legislature gave final approval to Colorado State University’s plan to renovate the old Fort Collins High School into a University Center for the Arts – a project designed to add state-of-the-art performance and classroom facilities to the university. The project, recently approved by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, was passed unanimously by the JBC.

Rep. Steve Tool, chairman of the JBC, made the motion that was approved by the JBC, clearing the way for $6.4 million in Phase One funds. The funds will be used for project design and initial renovation to move forward with the center. University teams are working to secure private funding in addition to public support.

In addition to bringing cultural enrichment and community-university collaborations, the $28 million University Center for the Arts will house – for the first time in university history – Colorado State’s Department of Music, Theatre and Dance under one roof. Other university departments also will be moved to the facility.

In August, the CCHE cleared the way for the new University Center for the Arts to enhance educational opportunities for students and to improve community outreach in the arts at Colorado State.

The university has committed to raise $5 million in private funds for the center and at least $2 million for a program and scholarship endowment. When completed, the entire project is expected to exceed $30 million.

The center will be housed in the old Fort Collins High School on Remington Street, a local historic landmark built in 1923.