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Performing arts center planned in Idaho Springs’ Building 103
BY DEB HURLEY BROBST DBROBST@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Editor’s note: is is the second of two stories about the tenants planned in Building 103 in addition to the Clear Creek School District’s new elementary school. is week’s story pro les the performing arts center on the fourth oor of the building. A story that ran on June 22 pro led the planned early childhood education center that will be located on the south end of the building.
Imagine an arts center in Idaho Springs that will provide opportunities for adults and children to get involved in performing arts and bring a professional theater group to the city in the summer.
at’s the vision of the Clear Creek Center for Arts and Education, the organization planning to rent the top oor of Building 103, the current name for the former Clear Creek Middle School.
Scott Lubinski, who is spearheading the e ort, is enthusiastic about the possibilities for the space, which already has a theater, a band room and a choir room plus small instructional rooms. Since the building has been closed for about 20 years, there’s a lot of remodeling that needs to take place.
To help the organization reach its goals, Colorado Creative Industries has awarded the group a $1.5 million Community Revitalization Grant. According to the award, a thriving arts district that the organization will create will economically diversify Idaho Springs, and it will bring “major economic progress to the region.”
Lubinski hopes the center will be open in December 2024, and he expects it to be a popular gathering place for children and adults alike.
Building 103 has a total of 86,000 square feet, and the school district is putting a new elementary school in about 60,000 square feet of the building to replace Carlson Elementary. In 2021, voters approved a $33 million bond, with about $25 million going to build the new elementary school.
An early childhood education center will take up about 6,000 square feet, and the arts center will have about 20,000 square feet.
Bond money is being used for asbestos abatement for the entire building, but it cannot be used to build out space for other organizations, according to the terms of the bond.
From the beginning, Lubinski said, the goal has been three pronged: education focused to build classes alongside what the elementary school o ers; community access for community theater, choirs or other groups; and a professional theater company to perform in the summers. e space is being designed so each component has multiple uses.
Lubinski foresees a 280-seat professional theater in the middle of the space that could be used by community groups during the school year and a professional group that would bring people o of Interstate 70 in the summer to see a show and frequent local businesses.
He wants to build a smaller theater for students where they can explore performing, lighting and sets, and he hopes to add a professional recording studio, saying recording studios outside of large cities are popular with recording artists.
He plans a smaller theater that could be used for small groups or as a small concert hall.
Once the fourth oor has been remodeled, Lubinski hopes to put an addition on the building or add a small building nearby for a workshop that would o er a place to build sets, design and sew costumes, and more.
Lubinski said the center now has a board of directors working to support this vision.
“ e board is motivated to help us move forward and be a viable entity, he said.
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