The University of Rhode Island Fine Arts Center held a beam signing on Thursday, Sept. 19 to celebrate the predicted completion date of the center, September of 2025.
URI began reconstruction of the Fine Arts Center in 2021 with $73 million in funding, Jeanette Riley, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said. The Fine Arts Center, in its finality, will be a three-story building with a new lobby, theater, art, acting and recording studios. Speakers at the event also included Sen. Susan Sosnowski, Gov. Dan McKee and URI President Marc Parlange. Every speaker noted the importance of supporting the arts and in the new resources presented by expansion.
The arts in a growing community influences self-expression and creativity, McKee said in his speech. The board of trustees representative thanked the Rhode Island voters for making the expansion possible.
The original timeline for the completion of the construction was the spring of 2025, but it is now confirmed to be September of 2025. Due to over-budget bidding, the University was forced to try to find more money, according to project manager Mike Steinbrecher. This led to an extension of the construction.
The next step in construction includes finishing building A, which is located on the corner of Bills and Upper College roads, Steinbrecher said. The building, predicted to be completed this Christmas, will allow for the construction of other buildings to begin.
The chairs of the College of Arts and Sciences were hesitant about the process and noise created by construction, Steinbrecher said.
“[Students and faculty] see it going on and they get more and more excited as it goes, and are willing to deal with a little more discomfort to get it done,” Steinbrecher said.
Greeted by students in costumes from previous performances, the beam signing held a photography gallery under the tent and students celebrated a variety of artistic talents. Rep. Joe Shekarchi was the main speaker at this event.
“You are the future of this state,” Shekarchi said in his speech. “50,000 visitors come to see productions here at URI.”
The best way to grow a community is by supporting academics, athletics and arts, McKee said.
Despite the extension of construction, artists kept their creativity flowing through the performances during the beam signing ceremony.
After four years of work, the new Fine Arts Center is set to greet the next school year. Members of the URI community can look forward to the fall 2025 semester when this new creative space is unveiled.