Opera house reno project funding advances
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The Porter County Council has approved spending $5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding towards renovations of the Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso, while also trimming allocations for several nonprofits in the county. Our partners at The Times of Northwest Indiana report council members reached a compromise on funding amounts and will forward the spending plan to the board of commissioners.
The publication says funding for the opera house was not in the plan approved by the ARPA steering committee. The compromise on funding for nonprofits and the opera house came after Project Neighbors offered to reduce its funding request to $700,000, down from $1 million.
The cut, according to the publication, prompted the council to reduce funding for other nonprofits by 10%. Nonprofits will now get $8.9 million from that fund.
The opera house project is pegged at $7.5 million, and the county will pay $5 million as part of the $33 million in federal ARPA funds. The Memorial Opera House Foundation will need to come up with the remainder.
The project includes extensive renovations to the building, including plumbing, HVAC, electrical and masonry; and a connector to the 1860 sheriff’s residence next door, which will open up the opera house lobby and provide accessible restrooms in the connector.
Click here to access the full story from The Times of Northwest Indiana.