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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2009 > September > 26 > Entry
Arthouse raises $5 million, construction set to begin
Arthouse, the Congress Avenue contemporary art center, announced tonight that it has raised $5 million towards its planned $6 million renovation and that construction will begin next month.
The new design — by architects Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis of New York — will triple the available exhibit and program space from 7,000 square-feet to 20,830 square-feet. The arts venue will re-open in October 2010, in advance of the organization’s centennial in 2011..
“Despite the global economic challenges of the past year, local and national conditions have gotten stronger and a confluence of circumstances have given Arthouse a unique opportunity to leverage today’s highly favorable construction costs and financing rates,” said Arthouse board chair Stephen M. Jones.
The renovation project calls for changes to the building’s facade and both floors, adding new galleries, two studios, a 90-seat community/screening room as well as the addition of a 5,500 square-foot roof top venue for art, film and special events.
The building, at 700 Congress Ave., was originally a movie house, built in the 1920s. It then was a department store beginning in the 1950s. Arthouse purchased the building in 1995 and remodeled the first floor, opening the venue in 1998.
Visit an interactive feature on the project.
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