The Board of Directors of the Celtic Arts Foundation passed a resolution at their June 2012 Board Meeting to secure a permanent home for the CAF and to launch a capital campaign (click here to make a donation) to raise $200,000 for the purchase of our new office location. After evaluating several options, on October 1st, we purchased a property in downtown Mount Vernon. It is located at 1124 Cleveland Avenue, Mount Vernon, WA 98273. The image below shows an aerial view of the property:
Aerial view of downtown Mount Vernon, WA
Existing building
The selected property is zoned for commercial use, and is defined by the City of Mount Vernon as being in the “downtown core”. This is significant for a number of reasons related to future development, but suffice it to say that the existing 1200 square-foot structure contains enough space for our needs. We envision the current staff of one and three-quarters to grow into three full-time employees with additional space for two part-time interns. Board meeting space, storage with easy access, adequate parking – all these things make this property a great solution for the Foundation. Once fundraising efforts are complete (ideally, by year-end 2012), we will pay off the bridge loan that has been secured to purchase the property and commence with interior demolition, foundation stabilization and other remodeling needs. The estimated time-frame for the remodel is approximately 4 months. It is feasable that, by mid-year of 2013, we could be in our new home! Most importantly, this plan has been developed so that the CAF will incur no debt for the property, or for the remodel improvements. Tower Pacific Construction, in Mount Vernon, has been selected to complete this project for the CAF. As of mid-November, 2012, engineering and architectural details are being finalized.
Here’s an exterior look at the existing building on the property, and the draft interior plan for the new Celtic Arts Foundation office.
Existing building to be remodeled
Looking south on Cleveland
(Click on image to see larger view of office floor plan)
Then what?
This unique property has potential for expansion that could be transformative for the southern part of downtown Mount Vernon. It is critical to stress that, although there is no funding in place for this part of the plan at present, grants and other avenues are currently being explored after the Board of Directors and major donors to the CAF enthusiastically embraced this Second Phase of our project. The long-time dream of a Celtic Cultural Center could truly become a reality. Imagine - a place to hold Robert Burns Suppers, Scotch-tastings, concerts, musical workshops, lectures on any aspect of Scottish, Irish and Celtic culture and heritage - this Center will become a hub of activity that will make a vibrant contribution not only to the Foundation and its stakeholders, but to the broader community as well. Here is a rendering of what the Center will look like:
The new building space will accommodate seated meals, concerts and lectures for up to 150 people, and will include the necessary amenities to make this an extremely versatile venue. The following two renderings suggest what the interior might look like:
Stage for performers
High ceilings for good acoustics
These concepts were designed by HKP Architects of Mount Vernon, WA.
