Work Begins on Jasper Cultural Center

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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe city of Jasper has begun demolition work as part of the $17 million Thyen-Clark Cultural Center project. When complete, the new facility will serve as the home of Jasper Community Arts and the Jasper Public Library.
The cultural center is being built on the site of a vacant factory that is being demolished to make way for a brand new facility. The demolition is expected to take eight weeks, after which the city will hold a formal groundbreaking for the cultural center, which is scheduled to be complete in 2020.
Jasper Mayor Terry Seitz calls the pairing of Jasper Arts and the Jasper Public Library under one roof is unique. "Both the arts and library serve similar patrons – all ages, race, creeds – and having them united under one roof with planned joint programming means everything to the future of our community."
The project is being funded by the library and the city, as well as through tax credits from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and community donations totaling nearly $5 million.
The Thyen-Clark Cultural Center is named after Jim and Pat (Clark) Thyen. Jim Thyen is the former president and chief executive officer of Jasper-based Kimball International Inc. (Nasdaq: KBAL) and Pat Thyen is a member of the Jasper Community Arts Commission.