CAPITAL AREA SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR NEW FACILITY IN STRAWBERRY SQUARE
Harrisburg, PA – Mayor Stephen R. Reed, the Strawberry Square Development Corporation and the Capital Area Intermediate Unit (CAIU) today announced plans for a new 10,400 square foot home on the first floor in Strawberry Square (Third and Walnut Streets) for the Capital Area School for the Arts (CASA) which is slated to open in August of 2009.
Reed said the Capital Area School for the Arts is now in its eighth year of operation and currently operates in the Salem Church at S. Third and Chestnut Streets. CASA is an intensive, half-day program that provides training to nearly 160 high school students from all across the various 24 school districts within CAIU’s jurisdiction. The students receive training in five areas of arts education: dance, film and video, music, theatre, and visual art to qualified high school students in the capital region. CASA provides a unique and rewarding opportunity for the region’s most talented students in the arts through a partnership between the Capital Area Intermediate Unit and Open Stage of Harrisburg. The program is offered yearly and interested students are required to audition or submit a portfolio of their work to gain admittance into the program.
"This new location for CASA will provide us with an exciting opportunity to showcase this wonderfully successful regional arts magnet program in a state-of-the-art, secure, and comfortable facility," said Amy Morton, Executive Director of the CAIU. The tenant improvements in the space will cost approximately $850,000 and will provide specialized classrooms for all the various disciplines, including a dance floor and lecture area, changing rooms, and soundproof music rehearsal spaces. Other improvements will include private restroom facilities, reception and work areas, a conference room, a display corridor for visual arts, and an office for staff.
Mayor Reed said, "This new location for CASA further cements the City of Harrisburg’s role as a center for quality educational programs serving the arts," said Reed. "Over 90 percent of CASA graduates are accepted to top conservatories and arts schools throughout the country such as Carnegie Mellon University, Maryland Institute College of Art, Berklee College of Music, and the New York University Film School, to name just a few."
Reed said, "When CASA was first being formed, its organizers and the Mayor’s Office met and established its first location in the first floor office area of the Walnut Street Parking Garage, where we were able to provide that space at steeply discounted rates. This was intended to give the school a start with the goal of eventually growing out of that space as more students would enroll and programs would expand. That goal has been achieved and exceeded in eight short years."
Downtown Harrisburg is currently home to many educational partnerships and organizations including the Bricco Restaurant and Olewine School of Culinary Arts at HACC, International House, Messiah College’s Harrisburg Institute, Temple University Harrisburg, and Harrisburg University of Science and Technology at Fourth and Market Streets and Sci-Tech High School at 215 Market Street.
For more information on the CASA project, contact Bradley Jones of Harristown Development Corporation at (717) 255-1041 or by email at bradleyjones@harristown.net or Amy Morton, Executive Director CAIU at 732-8400 Ext. 8633 or acmorton@caiu.org .
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