MOUNT VERNON — It used to be a place to go shopping, but, in about a year, it will be a place to get an education.
Dr. Daniel Martin, president of Mount Vernon Nazarene University, welcomed visitors to the old Stage building on South Main Street on Tuesday to talk about the university’s plan to transform the 32,000-square-foot space into an art and adult studies center. He said the building dates back to 1904, and was once owned by Walter Rudin, an important business and community leader of his day.
“We hope in some way to carry on that tradition,” Martin said.
Mark and Denise Ramser donated the building — 211 and 209 S. Main St. — to the university earlier this month.
On Tuesday, architectural plans for the building’s renovation were on display and visitors took a tour around the building. Martin said the university hopes to have classes begin in the fall of 2009. The budget for the renovation is about $2 million; work will begin in June and will hopefully be completed in 12 months. The three floors of the building will be used for art galleries, adult classes, office space and studios for art students. Martin said university officials hope to keep close to the original look of the building.
Martin said the community and MVNU, then known as Mount Vernon Nazarene College, formed a partnership 42 years ago. At that time, there were less than 200 students; now, the university has eight sites throughout the state, with 2,800 students. He said the growth would not be possible without the support of friends and the community, and thanked the Community Foundation of Mount Vernon and Knox County for donations it made that allowed the university to fund preliminary feasibility and environmental studies on the building.
“We couldn’t be more proud of that partnership,” he said. “We look forward to continuing to work toward the betterment of all the people who live, work and play in Knox County.”
Martin referenced a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education that states colleges and universities are helping spur economic development in small cities, adding that he hopes the new center will have such an effect on downtown Mount Vernon. He said university officials look forward to hosting community events in the building and partnering with the main building of Central Ohio Technical College’s Knox County branch, just across the street.
Martin said the art classes will be for undergraduates, adult classes will allow for degree completion and graduate studies will allow students to earn a master’s degree in subjects such as ministry, education or business. He said these are already taught at the main campus, but the new building will free up space at the main campus, where space is somewhat tight. He said university leaders will seek certification that verifies that the building has been renovated in keeping with high environmental and energy standards.
Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis called the building and its future plans a real gift to the city.
“If I could do a handstand, I would,” he said. “It’s a mayor’s dream to have a project like this take off in a department store that has been closed for a number of years.”
He said he thinks the new center will bring more people downtown, and that the mix of traditional and nontraditional students it will attract will spur business developments downtown.
