At the end of this year’s legislative session, the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts received $1.5 million in funding from the Oregon Lottery. This significant figure is a portion of the funds requested through the Cultural Advocacy Coalition (CAC) to support capital investment projects in Oregon, and is tied for the largest award given by the Lottery through the CAC request during the 2019 legislative session. Other recipients include: Cottage Theatre, High Desert Museum, Lincoln City Cultural Center and Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center, which will divide the remaining $2.6 million as allocated by the Oregon State Legislature.
“This critical funding received through Lottery dollars propels us so much closer to the completion of the capital fundraising campaign,” said Lani Faith, Beaverton Arts Foundation Executive Director. “For the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts to receive funding of this magnitude from the State truly empowers our position that what we’re doing will benefit Oregon as a whole. With every step forward, the vision of the facility – and how it will serve as the cultural hub of our region – gets stronger.”
Earlier this year, the Beaverton Arts Foundation, which serves as the funding arm of the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, submitted its letter of request and went through a thorough review by a subcommittee of the CAC board, and was ultimately selected as part of the cohort to receive a portion of the Oregon Lottery funds. All organizations requesting Lottery funds have demonstrated that they will:
- Grow jobs in the cultural sector
- Expand access to cultural resources for future generations
- Preserve, restore and exhibit culturally significant artifacts and historic treasures
- Support expansion of both contemporary and traditional arts and theatre
- Encourage cost-effective, innovative partnerships among cultural nonprofits and the communities they serve
For the Beaverton Arts Foundation, the funds will be specifically allocated to the construction of the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts – the first performing arts center of its kind to be built in the Portland-metro area in more than 30 years. With this funding, approximately $3.5 million remains to be raised of the total $46 million project budget to build the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts. Construction Drawings are complete, and both construction and funding timelines anticipate groundbreaking at the end of 2019 (upon the completion of fundraising goals), with grand opening in spring 2021.
Please see coverage from the Portland Business Journal and the Beaverton Valley Times regarding the Oregon State Legislature’s vote to award $1.5 million to the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts:
