WHAT: Groundbreaking for new Cultural Arts Center

WHEN: 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, December 15, 2015

WHERE: Corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and Oglethorpe Avenue

WHO: Savannah Mayor Edna B. Jackson, City Manager Stephanie Cutter, and City Aldermen will join with representatives from Gunn Meyerhoff Shay Architects, CHA Consulting, Inc., M.B. Kahn Construction., Inc./The Polote Corporation and City staff.

WHY: The Cultural Arts Center will be built on a long-vacant lot at Oglethorpe Avenue and Montgomery Street -- a key gateway into Savannah with wonderful proximity to Savannah's other major art facilities, such as the Jepson Center for the Arts, the SCAD Museum of Art, and the Johnny Mercer Theater at the Savannah Civic Center. The development will also partially restore Elbert Square, one of Savannah's "lost" squares on Montgomery Street.

This will be a place where working artists can interact and share with each other, and where students of all ages -- from young children to retired seniors -- can engage in the visual and performance arts. It will not be just a place where local people can see good art, hear good music and enjoy good performances. It will be a place where they can be engaged in creating art too.