The Paul S. Sarbanes Branch Library, which is where the future SU Performing Arts Center will be. Image courtesy of Anna Belong.
Recently, the project of building a performing arts center in downtown Salisbury for Salisbury University students involved with Fulton School has received a state grant for $2 million. This is double the initial investment from the state and Governor Wes Moore for Fiscal Year 2025.
Last year the university announced the commencement of a bilateral agreement between SU and Wicomico County Public Library’s Paul S. Sarbanes Branch in downtown Salisbury.
The project was introduced as an initiative to move the library to where the inactive Ward Museum on Schumaker pond is. Demolition of the library is expected to begin next year.
The new performing arts center will be home to a sizable auditorium with a dance studio, smaller music and theatre spaces, and even classroom space. The plans to create this performing arts studio come not long after renovation of the Blackwell Hall building has also commenced, which is a $60 million project that received a little over $19 million in grant money from the state as well.
The center, as it is developed, will be a $100 million dollar proposal that SU President Carolyn Lepre has stated will be the “crown jewel” of downtown Salisbury.
Ultimately, plans for Blackwell and the performing arts center are regarded by the university as a means of improving student experience.
Gov. Moore, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jake Day also point out that the center could be a factor in stimulating economic development for the school and town.
By Anna Belong
Managing Editor
Images courtesy of Anna Belong
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