THE MADISON SQUARE Center for the Arts continues to see improvements and upgrades that will enhance the artistic experiences of those who take classes and attend performances at the historic building.

Upgrades to ensure the safety and comfort of those who use the center are the main components of the ongoing renovations. The center has been made handicap accessible, new and new restrooms and a new water system will be installed, as well as a sprinkler and fire alarm system.

Architectural and structural improvements will also be made to the historic building.

The combination auditorium and gymnasium space was renovated last year with the help of a grant from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH). And the center’s field house building was renovated into a martial arts studio.

“That is a tremendous asset for us because we were having to juggle so many people in so many places,” said Justin Bennett, director of cultural arts. “It’s one of the best things we’ve done.”

Workers are finishing up the public restroom renovation project in the center’s auditorium area, which should be finished in the next couple of weeks, Bennett said.

The restrooms will serve all of the arts center’s events as well as city events that are held on the front lawn of the center.

“It will allow us to better serve everybody who rents space here. It will really just allow us to be a better facility,” Bennett said.

A concession stand and a new piano studio are also being added to the center as part of this phase of the ongoing renovations.

LATER THIS YEAR, THE space under the stage will be renovated to allow it to be used during performances. The space will contain two dressing rooms, two private bathrooms, a music suite that will be geared toward music and voice lessons, and storage space.

“Right now if you do a performance here, you have to come out where the audience can see you to get from backstage from the hall to the dressing room,” “The new renovations have included a spiral staircase that will bring you up backstage from underneath,” Bennett said.

By the end of 2007, approximately $1 million will have been spent on renovating the arts center, Bennett said.

Restroom renovations and the handicap accessibility have been funded by a $100,000 grant from MDAH. A federal Housing and Urban Development Economic Development Initiative grant for the Madison Square Redevelopment District has provided approximately $500,000 toward the renovations. Money has also come from the city of Madison.

Renovations had to be put on hold last year to make repairs to the center’s roof which had been damaged by water.

“We had a roof that failed, (and) had some structural damage because of that,” Bennett said in a previous interview. “We had some water pool on the top and caused it to fall through.”

Though the unexpected delay shifted the priorities of the renovation, the repairs have been finished, three dance studios were redone because of the damage, and the planned renovations are now back on track.

In addition to securing funding for renovations, officials at the center also have to contend with the building’s historic status. The MDAH must approve any construction on buildings listed on the historic register.

THE RENOVATIONS AT THE center will be ongoing, and Bennett says he cannot predict when the renovations might be completed.

“We know what project is next and we know when we have money, what projects we want to do after that,” Bennett said. “There are things that need to be done just because old buildings need attention, and for so long it went without.”

The Madison Square Center for the Arts is located in the original Madison-Ridgeland High School building which was constructed in 1910 and went through major additions in 1922.

In 1986, the two-story brick building was added to the National Register of Historical Places and in 1987 it was designated as a Mississippi Landmark.

The building served as Madison-Ridgeland High School until the early 1990s when it became the home of the Madison County Cultural Center. The city of Madison purchased the center from Madison County in 2004 and named it the Madison Square Center for the Arts.

The center is home to a number of local performance troupes such as Stars, a show choir group, and Encore, a mixed dance ensemble.

Residents can also take a variety of classes at the center from performing, visual and martial arts to exercise and personal wellness classes.

For more information about the Madison Square Center for the Arts, call 853-0291. Or visit http:// www.madisonthecity.com/MSCA_ home.htm to see a listing of the classes the center offers, a schedule of those classes and upcoming events.