Coppell Arts Center – Coppell, Texas
The Coppell Arts Center is a gathering place that honors local artists, presents first-class entertainment and diverse cultural experiences for the citizens of Coppell and North Texas residents.
The Coppell Arts Center will be the next great addition to the City’s legacy. More than merely concrete, steel, and stages, this building will create endless opportunities. Opportunities for people of different cultures and backgrounds to understand one another better, opportunities for children to unleash a creative force they never knew they had within, opportunities for their local artists to grow in their craft and be celebrated, opportunities for businesses in Old Town Coppell to thrive, and opportunities for them to connect in fellowship during a time when that is needed most.
The goal of Coppell Arts Center is to create a gathering place that honors local artists and presents first-class entertainment and diverse cultural experiences for the citizens of Coppell and North Texas residents. In accordance with that mission, they will provide their local talent with the resources they need to create and present their incredible work, and they will curate experiences from around the region and the nation and bring them here to Coppell.
All the while, they will be a home base for community groups looking for a platform to communicate and provide educational opportunities for children and young adults. That’s their mission. Those are their goals.
The First Arts Center
The idea of building an arts center venue was initially discussed many years ago, during the development of Old Town Coppell. In 1999, the City of Coppell converted an unused fire station to the Coppell Center for the Arts, also home to Theatre Coppell. The theatre was an intimate, 124-seat theatre with seating on three sides of the stage and approximately 7,500 square feet. But, the desire for a new and larger facility that could host all the emerging art groups in Coppell was expressed again by residents in 2009 during the development of Coppell’s 2030 vision plan. Two of the main goals under the plan’s Community Wellness and Enrichment sector called for investments into gathering spaces and cultural opportunities and amenities.
A Growing Need
As the City grew, so did its need for a larger arts venue. In 2015, after a presentation from Theatre Coppell, the idea of an arts center was revisited, and the City contracted with Corgan Architects to perform preliminary program and site planning for either the existing theater’s renovation, renovation and expansion, and/or an option for the construction of a new theater located in Old Town Coppell. This preliminary programming study was reviewed by the City Council during their October 25, 2016 work session, and it was utilized to create the initial schematic design.
A New Center
After much research, the Coppell City Council determined that City staff and the architect should begin focusing on the potential construction of a new arts facility located in Old Town. In January 2017, the Coppell City Council approved an architectural services agreement with Corgan for the proposed Coppell Arts Center. The budget for the facility is approximately $20 million, including construction, design, furniture and fixtures, construction management, parking, and contingency.
The project is funded through the Coppell Recreation Development Corporation. While the CRDC will cover the initial build-out costs and supplement annual operations, philanthropic contributions will be pursued to support Center programming, educational initiatives, and opportunities for Coppell-based artists and community groups.