Clifton arts center wins $250,000 for school renovation

The Clifton Cultural Arts Center (CCAC) has received a $250,000 capital award from the State of Ohio as part of the state's capital budget process.

The funds will be applied to phase one of the renovation of the former Clifton School at Clifton and McAlpin avenues, which is estimated to cost $3 million.

Work will make the historic 1906 building code compliant by adding an elevator, a fire protection system, and secured lobby system, making the building ADA-accessible and opening the building's auditorium, Great Hall and music room for use.

CCAC executive director Ruth Dickey says that the center will spend the rest of the summer fundraising.

"We're incredibly excited and very grateful for the grant," she says.  "We hope we can begin work next summer, and hopefully have the whole building open by the summer of 2010."

In addition to the state and its grant review panel, Dickey credits the hard work of the CCAC's board and volunteers.

"It was an incredibly competitive process," she says.  "I'm just thrilled about the hard work that people put in before I even got here."

Future phases of the renovation include upgrading of the building's mechanicals and general interior and exterior improvements, estimated at $7 million.

Dickey says that she hopes to have the CCAC included in the city's next capital budget, but that two-thirds of the project costs will need to come from private funding.

When completed, the Clifton School will be part of a 9-acre, 57,000-square-foot urban campus that will include the renovated McDonald Estate Carriage House, the Clifton Recreation Center, and the new Fairview-Clifton German Language School.

 

Writer: Kevin LeMaster
Source: Ruth Dickey, executive director, Clifton Cultural Arts Center
Photography by Scott Beseler