By STEPHEN HAMMILL

The Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department and the Friends of the Carrollwood Cultural Center are set to begin construction on a new home for the arts this January.

According to John Brill, spokesman for the Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation Department, the county issued a notice to proceed order, effective Jan. 2, giving the contractor the go-ahead to begin construction.

The main cultural center will sit on the site of the former St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 13335 Casey Road. The 5-acre complex also includes a 6,000-square-foot annex now located inside the former Carrollwood Church of Christ building.
The county provided for the acquisition of the building and land to create a cultural center for the residents of Hillsborough County. The center will be located in the heart of Carrollwood, off of South Village Drive.

CEM Enterprises is contracted to build the center, with a construction budget of $4.3 million. Work is expected to be complete in 300 days, in fall of 2007. The total cost for the county-funded project is $8 million.

“We will have a pre-construction meeting next week,” said Brill. “If we make an amendment to the plan or if there’s a weather delay, it can change.”
Construction plans call for a renovation of the existing 16,000-square-foot building at 13335 Casey Road, as well as creation of a brand new 5,700-square-foot, two-story addition on the east end of the structure.
The new edifice will serve as a meeting ground and performance space.
“It will be sort of our main hall,” said Brill.

The Carrollwood Cultural Center’s stated mission is to offer programs, services and events that encourage individual exploration and promote a sense of community. The center plans to participate with several Florida interest groups to promote the arts and its influences throughout the community, encompassing graphic and performing arts, education, and community outreach.

The center is supported by the Friends of the Carrollwood Cultural Center, a volunteer organization.
Vicki Cucchia is a member of Friends of the carrollwood Center, and has been involved with it for 2 years. She said that when she arrived here from New York there was a noticable lack of an artistic community in the city, especially in north Tampa, but now with the center open, she feels great priveledge in belonging to it.

“It’s nice to know the arts are being resurrected in Hillsborough County,” she said. “We will have a real theater – a place to have concerts and plays, and it will be surrounded by classrooms.”

More information can be found on the center’s Web site at http://www.carrollwoodcenter.org.