What is happening with the $1.75 million Ziegler Tire building project in downtown Canton?

CANTON ? Canton Bluecoats and EN-RICH-MENT Fine Arts Academy are launching a public campaign to raise about $600,000 to renovate and expand the former Ziegler Tire site in downtown Canton as a permanent home for local children to learn music, leadership skills, cooking and dancing.

Bluecoats and EN-RICH-MENT recently announced a partnership agreement to share resources and to ensure the EN-RICH-MENT Fine Arts Academy continues long into the future.

They already have raised roughly $1.1 million of the $1.75 million Ziegler building project, including what Bluecoats CEO Mike Scott said are generous donations from several local foundations and some businesses.

Plans call for EN-RICH-MENT to be based at the Ziegler site at Market Avenue N and Ninth Street NW. ArtsInStark owns the property and will lease it to the involved parties. The site is on the campus of the Cultural Center for the Arts, where the Canton Ballet, Canton Museum of Art and a theater are based.

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EN-RICH-MENT offers afterschool, summer and weekend programming for youth in the performing arts. The new home for EN-RICH-MENT will be next to a new green space park being developed by ArtsinStark, a Canton-based nonprofit agency that provides support for the local arts community.

During a recent tour of the former Ziegler building, project supporters detailed the plans. Here's a look at five things you should know about the $1.75 million project.

1. How can people donate to the fundraising campaign?

Bluecoats and EN-RICH-MENT are calling the fundraising campaign "Building The Future."

Donations can be made at enrichmentcampaign.org or at [email protected].

For more information about EN-RICH-MENT and Bluecoats, go to https://www.en-rich-ment.org/ and https://bluecoats.com/. EN-RICH-MENT Fine Arts Academy also can be reached at 330-546-7724.

2. What will be the purpose of the renovated building?

Founded in 2012 by Betty Smith, EN-RICH-MENT provides free music and arts education to any student who signs up.

Most known for its drumline, EN-RICH-MENT also features dance, theater, music, art, cooking and nutrition programs, as well as overseeing a community garden. Other components of EN-RICH-MENT include teaching children leadership and life skills.

EN-RICH-MENT predominantly serves Black and brown students ages 5 to 18, reaching "hundreds of students from under-resourced communities each year," Bluecoats and EN-RICH-MENT said in a joint news release announcing the fundraising campaign.

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Together, the EN-RICH-MENT education center and new ArtsinStark pocket park will occupy a block of Ninth Street between Cleveland Avenue NW and Market Avenue N. The park will feature a performance area, paved walkways and an area for food trucks.

Project supporters say the area will also serve as a connector between the Canton Memorial Civic Center, Cultural Center for the Arts and downtown Canton, including Centennial Plaza.

3. What will the $1.75 million building project include?

The education center and new home for EN-RICH-MENT will include a commercial-grade kitchen, conference room, administrative office space, music and dance rehearsal spaces, multiple classrooms and practice rooms, and a sensory room for students with special needs.

In addition to renovated space, there will also be a new 3,000-square-foot dance studio added to the west side of the existing 14,000-square-foot building.

New restrooms at the education center building will be separately useable both for EN-RICH-MENT and by the public during events at the park.

Funds raised also will pay for furniture and EN-RICH-MENT program supplies at the building.

No timeline has been announced for starting and finishing construction and opening the new facility. The Canton-based Motter & Meadows is the project architect.

4. What will be the name of the renovated and expanded building?

A name has not been decided yet for the building, said Scott, of Bluecoats.

For now, it's being referred to as a new education center for the students of EN-RICH-MENT.

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5. Who's heading and supporting the project?

The project is being led by Ted Swaldo, founder and owner of Gervasi Vineyard, who also serves as director emeritus on the board of trustees for Bluecoats.

Smith, of EN-RICH-MENT, says the project would not be possible without the ardent support of Bluecoats and Swaldo, the group's former executive director. The Bluecoats are a world-renowned drum and bugle corps that was named the 2016 Drum Corps International world champion.

"Five years ago, I prayed for a new facility that would house all of our programs, have one floor and lots of windows," Smith said. "God heard me, and I'm grateful."

Swaldo said the repurposed building is going to help change more lives and substantially grow EN-RICH-MENT's program participation. More than 200 children are served both in the summer camp and afterschool programs.

Mayor Thomas Bernabei told City Council recently that six large local foundations had verbally committed $950,000 to remodel and expand the former Ziegler building for the EN-RICH-MENT project.

The city of Canton is contributing $68,000 in American Rescue Fund dollars to cover the cost of the materials for a new roof for the building.

Through a formal agreement with Bluecoats and strategic restructuring, EN-RICH-MENT is now an affiliate of Bluecoats and has access to the 50-year-old organization's infrastructure and resources, the news release said.

"Our goal from the outset has been to ensure that the amazing life-changing programming that Betty (Smith) and her team have built will last for generations," Scott said.

Reach Ed at 330-580-8315 and [email protected]. On X (formerly Twitter) @ebalintREP and Instagram at ed_balint

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton Bluecoats and EN-RICH-MENT launch $1.75 million campaign