The Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn announced Wednesday that it has been awarded a $249,616 matching grant to install a new heating, air conditioning and ventilation system.
The grant was awarded by the New York State Council on the Arts as part of the Regional Economic Development Council program, whose awards were announced Dec. 18.
The system's installation will cost $550,000 and include the second floor of the 205 Genesee St. center, allowing it to make use of 2,000 square feet of gallery space and 3,000 square feet of classroom space there year-round. The floor currently lacks ventilation and air conditioning, and has inadequate heating, the center said in a news release.Â
"The addition of air conditioning and heating on the second floor has been a longstanding goal for the art center," Schweinfurth Executive Director Donna Lamb said in the release. "We have always had the luxury of great space, but we haven't been able to fully utilize it because the space was unusable during much of the year.
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The 37-year-old HVAC system on the main floor of the center will also be replaced with an energy-efficient variable refrigerant flow system with enhanced building controls. The center hopes to begin construction in fall 2019.
Lamb added that the new HVAC system is the first of several long-term projects to make the center more accessible. The center and its neighbor the Cayuga Museum of History & Art are also partnering on an arts campus project that will further integrate the two buildings with new landscaping, signage, walkways and more. The project is one of several under consideration by the committee forming the spending plan for Auburn's $10 million Downtown Revitalization Grant from the state.
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