Gov. J.B. Pritzker | File photo
Gov. J.B. Pritzker | File photo
The Illinois Capital Development Board announced that it has selected OWP/P Cannon Design, Inc. to design the new Center for the Performing Arts at the Western Illinois University campus as part of the Rebuild Illinois capital plan.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s (D) plan totals $89 million in funds and the Center for the Performing Arts will take one-tenth of the funds, for a total of $8.9 million.
"With funding from our Rebuild Illinois capital plan, we're investing in our educational institutions across the state to help prepare talented students for the careers of tomorrow," Pritzker wrote in a Facebook post.
The funding for the new center was announced in February 2020, though construction will not begin until 2022.
The new Center for the Performing Arts will help to support the College of Fine Arts and Communication. It will include a 900-seat proscenium theatre as well as a 150-seat flexible studio theatre.
A number of dance, jazz, percussion and theatre rehearsal studios and classrooms will be included and complementary dressing rooms will be added in the plans.
The new center is anticipated to open in August 2024 and will feature administration offices and its own loading dock to accommodate large buses that may arrive for touring companies.
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