LAKE PLACID — The Lake Placid Center for the Arts was recently awarded a $1 million grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission. This grant will provide critical funds for the center’s renovation of their 50-year-old performance hall and rehearsal/gallery space, which is set to start in the fall.

James Lemons, the executive director of the LPCA, said the grant is specifically intended for costs related to the theater space, which will include things like seats and technology for light and sound. The total project cost for the auditorium is $3.725 million.

“What the NBRC did is really help us finish out the fundraising for that theater space,” he said, “which means come groundbreaking, we’re ready to go with getting that theater space up and running.”

As for the remainder of the project, the LPCA is still in the private phase of fundraising. The fundraising campaign will go public around the time of the groundbreaking in the fall, Lemons said.

The LPCA was one of 14 projects across the state to receive federal funding totaling $12,349,291 in the latest round of grants. These grants were announced by the commission on Monday. Other recipients across the state include affordable housing projects, water and health care infrastructure.

The NBRC, a state-federal partnership and grant program, is composed of the governors of the four Northern Border states and a federal co-chair. It was first created by Congress in 2008 and was most recently reauthorized for another five years in a bill passed in December.

Lemons said the NBRC is a unique program because it is a state-federal partnership. They have been in touch with leaders at both levels, and it turned out to be a bipartisan effort. He said North Country Rep. Elise Stefanik’s office first brought the opportunity to their attention, and U.S. senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand took up the mantel by advocating for them.

This is not the first grant funding the LPCA has received for this project. In 2023, the organization received $7.5 million from the state Council on the Arts capital projects fund.

The LPCA has been making do with an aging facility for years, but Director of Communications Alison Simcox said it’s a constant struggle of running out of space and being limited by equipment and infrastructure. Lemons said these needs became especially apparent after their 2022 strategic plan was completed.

“We have been fortunate enough to grow our programs and all that we do,” he said. “But that means we were using the building the way that it wasn’t built for. We were having to squeeze successful programs in spaces that weren’t really equipped or purposefully built for them.”

He said this project will both fix important things like heating and cooling while also creating a space intentionally designed for the programs the LPCA hosts. This will support both the longevity of the programs and also their accessibility.

“It increases the number of people we can serve in a given year, because it allows for more performances and more classes and more students and people in those classes,” Lemons said.

“And it’ll cool off and stay heated in a way that’s really exciting,” he added with a laugh and a reference to the ongoing heat wave.

The Lake Placid-North Elba joint Planning Review Board has reviewed the application for the renovation plan and completed a site visit earlier this month. Codes and Zoning Coordinator Barry Sears confirmed there will be a public hearing for the project on July 2.

Those interested can attend the hearing, which will be a part of the board’s normal meeting starting at 5:30 p.m. Comments can be given during the hearing or emailed to the building department. Information about the plan can be viewed on the town of North Elba website.

Simcox said the LPCA will continue all of their programs during construction, with more information about alternate locations to come. There will be a summer block party on Aug. 19 to kick off construction and celebrate the old building.