Northern Michigan University’s Board of Trustees has approved a five-year facilities master plan that includes a proposed campus arts district, anchored by a new Center for Creative Arts and Entrepreneurship and a major renovation of the Forest Roberts Theatre, the university said in an Oct. 14 announcement.
The arts package is described as a $51.5 million upgrade. NMU plans to request $30 million in state funding. The plan calls for renovating the 17,900-square-foot Forest Roberts Theatre and adding 30,000 square feet of new space, along with a media lab. Gavin Leach, executive vice president for Finance and Administration, is quoted in the university report on the proposal, which the school ties to Strategy 2.3 of its “Our Compass” plan.
The existing arts complex dates to 1964. University officials said enrollment in Theatre and Dance has grown 300 percent since 2020, and that the programs now present up to 16 major productions and more than 80 public performance nights a year. The arts work follows a 24,000-square-foot addition at C.B. Hedgcock.
If the state money comes through, the project would be one of the larger campus building efforts in years, and it would sit in a part of NMU that already draws town residents to plays, concerts and student shows. The official announcement does not set a construction start date. Details are in the university’s Oct. 14 report.
