Originally posted at: https://1350kman.com/2022/09/watch-state-and-local-officials-visit-manhattan-for-museum-of-art-and-light-groundbreaking/
State and local dignitaries were among about 100 people in attendance for the ceremonial groundbreaking of future Museum of Art in Light in Downtown Manhattan.
Friday marked the official beginning of the $43 million facility’s construction, having jumped past a number of hurdles in securing financing via STAR bonds and receiving city approval to proceed. Read more here.
“I could go on and on today, but what you need to recognize today in Manhattan is that we have become — and are becoming moreso — an oasis for the arts,” says Robert DeBruyn, the developer of the museum along with his wife Tracey. “We hope the Museum of Art and Light just helps complement and build upon what we already have here.”
Originally planned and approved to be constructed in the parking lot southeast of the Flint Hills Discovery Center, the DeBruyn’s reconsidered the location after 2021 amid opposition due to concerns about parking and potential impact on neighboring property owners.
The developers set their sights on a plot of land at Pierre and 3rd Streets in Downtown Manhattan with intent to incorporate existing structures such as the old Sears building into an overall design that would include a 40,000 square foot, 65 foot tall new structure as well.
Robert DeBruyn, also founder of the Master Teacher, Inc., says the museum will incorporate a combination of immersive and digital works of art alongside more traditional pieces from renowned masters as well as local community members.
Tracey DeBruyn offered their thanks to everyone who had a hand in getting the project to this stage, notably co-founders Ronald Bowman and Stanley Zukowfsky as well as members of their board of directors and local city and chamber officials.
“I have to tell you, these people could not have been more important to us and more helpful to us through this whole process,” says Tracey DeBruyn. “And it’s been a long one, so thank you.”
The DeBruyn’s say a major component making the project viable are STAR bonds, for which city commissioners voted to expand the Downtown STAR bond district by a block in order to encompass the chosen location for the museum. Doing so opens up the development for an estimated $23 million in sales tax revenue projected to be generated in the district through 2026, with the remainder coming from private sources.
Kansas Lt. Gov. and Commerce Sec. David Toland told the city and developers earlier this year the project would be eligible for the funds, and was in attendance Friday for the groundbreaking.
“Having spent a lot of time in Manhattan in the last week and certainly in the last three and a half years that I’ve been in office, I can tell you everybody ought to be wearing sunglasses because the future is incredibly bright here,” Toland says. “There is so much happening in Manhattan, and it’s very exciting.”
Toland called the museum project ‘transformative’, for the region as well as the State, and something he thinks will generate significant economic positives.
“It’s going to bring a lot of money, put a lot of heads in beds here in Manhattan, and I think change the image of not only this region but our State as a whole,” says Toland.
Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jason Smith closed out the morning’s remarks, but not before welcoming Katzy Buffalohead to offer a blessing. Buffalohead is an enrolled member of the Kaw Nation with descendency from Ponca Nation, Citizen Potatawomi Nation and Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma.
Smith says he first heard the concept for the museum close to three years ago, at the time not optimistic for its prospects.
“Projects like these just don’t happen in middle America, in smaller communities — these things happen in major cities,” Smith says.
As the DeBruyns continued working, Smith says he began to realize the museum was on its way to becoming reality — saying he’s never seen a more persistent group of developers over 30 years.
“On behalf of all of you and on behalf of Manhattan and on behalf of everybody in the region, I want to thank the DeBruyn’s for all their hard work — all their persistence in making this project happen today,” says Smith. “Everything begins here today.”
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