Indiana University Northwest is set to open its $45 million Arts and Sciences Building in August, with the hope it will become a new center for cultural life for the campus.
The three-story, 126,300-square-foot building spanning almost an entire block on 35th Street and Broadway in Gary will bring back a 500-seat theater to the campus. The new building will also feature a smaller “black box” theater.
The Arts and Sciences building replaces Tamarack Hall, the university’s first building that opened in the late 1950s. It previously served as the campus’ arts building and housed its theater, which was in use since the 1960s. The building closed in September 2008 after sustaining heavy flooding damage.
IUN will hold an official opening and dedication for the new building on Aug. 25. The Northwest Indiana Symphony will perform.
The new Arts and Sciences Building will be jointly shared between IUN and Ivy Tech Community College. Half of the building will be taken up by IUN’s fine arts and performing arts departments and administrative offices for its College Arts and Sciences division.
Students and staff from its Fine Arts Department will be able to work in its studio space and showcase their photography paintings, sculptures and other media within the building.
“The return of the theater will bring the arts front and center to the Gary community, helping to anchor the city’s redevelopment plan for University Park, which aims to focus on investment along Broadway and on 35th Avenue,” said IUN Chancellor William J. Lowe in a statement.
About 20 percent of the building will go to classroom and study areas. Ivy Tech will use the remaining 30 percent for science programs and to house its enrollment and admission offices.
The Indiana State Budget Committee approved the construction in 2013. Construction on the new building began in 2015.
Twitter: @meredithcolias