Wirth Center Planning Move For First Time in Over 30 Years

(KNSI) – Included in the latest round of Main Street Economic Revitalization Grants approved by the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation is $199,000 to help the Wirth Center for the Performing Arts move into the Daniel Building.

Located on 7th Avenue North near the historic courthouse, it would be the first relocation of the Wirth Center since the early 1990s. Executive Director James Newman explains why his organization wants to leave its current home on the third floor of the Mary Center. “This building is beautiful and we love it. However, as you notice on your way in, there’s about 61 steps, and there’s no elevator access, so we’re not very accessible here. We’re also tucked down an alleyway and not a lot of street-side visibility.”

The Mary Center gets heat and air piped underground from the nearby cathedral, leaving it vulnerable to wild temperature swings throughout the year. Newman notes the extremely hot days, in particular, wear on the instruments housed there, especially the pianos.

The hope is to close on the Daniel building in December with the first phase of renovations completed by late spring of next year. Newman runs through the expected timeline of the $3 million overall project. “We expect to have the bulk of the first phase of construction done by June of 2026, which will involve some of the mechanical and electrical work, as well as putting in the dance studios and making the building fully accessible and usable.”

The three remaining phases could be completed after the center has already moved in. The Wirth Center was originally known for its piano lessons, but has branched out into a variety of instruments and nontraditional musical styles like hip hop in the decades since.

The Daniel Building has significantly more space than the current location, which will help aid in offering more and more services in the future. Newman describes the “bones” of the building at 11 7th Avenue North as good. He says one of the big challenges will be ensuring the new HVAC system is upgraded to handle large crowds of people who would show up for recitals and lessons.

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