Ceremony marks start of work on Dublin Cultural Arts Center

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Dublin City Council members shown attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the anticipated Cultural Arts Center. (Photo courtesy City of Dublin)

Dublin’s former police headquarters is set to be repurposed as a cultural, artistic and educational hub for residents and community members.

Design renderings of the new Dublin Cultural Arts Center show how the building will look once construction and renovations are complete. (Image courtesy City of Dublin)

Recently, city leaders met to declare a milestone for the project — a groundbreaking to mark the first day of construction for the renovations.

Wielding sledgehammers, the Dublin City Council and other officials participated in the event for the new center. The once-longtime home of Dublin Police Services will be transformed into a 13,000-square-foot arts and culture center that is expected to open in 2024.

For the past several years, officials had recognized the need for a cultural network facility in Dublin, according to city communications manager Shari Jackman.

“Beginning back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, long-range strategic planning always identified a Cultural Art Center as something meant for Dublin,” Jackman told the Weekly. “When conversations began about a new facility being built for Dublin Police Services, a location was finally identified for the future Cultural Arts Center.”

Once the prospective center had a location, design and development would begin. Several study sessions and assessments were conducted to determine needs and feasibility of such a project.

During the development process, staff worked with residents and artists to decide what should be included in the Cultural Arts Center.

“There were several community meetings held prior to the design of the facility in order to obtain feedback and suggestions from the community and local art groups (such as the Dublin Arts Collective) about what should be included in the design,” according to city officials.

Initial plans for the project include an art gallery, black-box theater with 150 seats, various creative spaces and an outdoor yard. Studios for music and dance are also set to be built. The center is set to offer plenty of educational and artistic opportunities for the public, including arts and crafting classes.

According to city officials, the project will cost an estimated $11.8 million to renovate and build. The two-story facility will house the city’s Parks and Community Services Department upstairs, while the new Cultural Arts Center operates on the ground floor.