Ohio University plans to divest Kantner Hall, located on North Green, and Central Classroom Building, located on College Green, to reduce utility and maintenance expenses, reallocating funds toward the College of Fine Arts Capital Project.
Chief Strategy, Operations and Facilities Officer in the College of Fine Arts Cimmeron O’Connor said the university plans for the Central Classroom Building and Kantner Hall to remain occupied and maintained by the university through 2026.
During the next few years, University Design/Construction and Planning will assess the future of the facilities and how they may be used to better serve the university’s needs, O’Connor said.
According to a previous Post report, the College of Fine Arts renewal strategy is a project to renovate, relocate and reconstruct buildings within the college to revitalize arts education across campus and the Athens community.
The renewal strategy is anticipated to be completed by the 2026 Fall Semester, providing four new and refurbished buildings for its six schools — Film, Music, Theater, Dance, Interdisciplinary Art, and Art and Design. These renovations aim to enhance arts education and provide collaborative opportunities, O’Connor said.
“The future of the arts is fundamentally interdisciplinary, and so, not only will future OHIO students work, create and rehearse in cutting-edge arts spaces, but because of the unique interdisciplinary design, they will benefit from the many ‘creative collisions’ that connected spaces can provide,” Matthew Shaftel, dean of the College of Fine Arts, wrote in an email.
With an estimated cost of $94 million, the renewal project is funded from $36 million in capital improvement planning funds, specifically for deferred maintenance, fundraising efforts and a $50 million donation from alumna Violet Patton. The project is currently 92% funded.
O’Connor said the renewal strategy consolidates operational costs by utilizing fewer buildings, which creates significant savings in maintenance and utility expenses while providing modern facilities and classrooms.
“With the incredible growth and acclaim of our arts programs, it is time to ensure that our facilities match not only our current excellence but also are prepared to meet the students of tomorrow,” Shaftel wrote in an email.
Approved by the Board of Trustees in June, the resolution involved the comprehensive renovation of Seigfred Hall, transforming the five-story building into a multifaceted facility to house the six schools.
The renovations also include a new building, the Patton Arts Center. The center will feature a 400-seat theater and a large performance and rehearsal area connecting to the outdoors.
Siegfried Hall, which has yet to undergo any significant upgrades since its construction in 1962, will receive updated infrastructure and interior enhancements, including lighting, electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems, according to the university’s six-year Capital Improvement Plan.
O’Connor said the Central Classroom Building, which houses the Anthropology Lab, College of Fine Arts Film and other general-use classrooms, is set to move to Siegfried Hall once the building’s renovations are completed.
The College of Fine Arts’ School of Dance, School of Film and School of Theater, which are currently housed in Kantner Hall, will move to Putnam Hall in addition to the new Patton Arts Center. It will be shared between all six schools in the College of Fine Arts as it is built to accommodate a variety of disciplines, O’Connor said.
Director of the School of Theater Merri Biechler discussed the exciting opportunities of a new theater location.
Biechler emphasized her excitement about having new, state-of-the-art spaces free from the outdated workarounds in a 60-year-old building. She said she hopes these spaces enhance the learning experience for production design and technology students, allowing them to become familiar with cutting-edge software, hardware and instruments.
While exciting, Biechler said the move will present challenges. She said theaters are complex structures requiring state-of-the-art acoustics, and figuring out how to make the new complex theater spaces and equipment work can be challenging.
“This (project) happens once in a lifetime for a School of Theater, for a College of Fine Arts,” Biechler said. “We are hopeful that we’re all going to be able to contribute in a way that is meaningful to our students because the students’ learning is absolutely at the top of everyone’s list.”
@maggie.amacher
