(Image: Pratt Fine Arts)

Pratt Fine Arts Center’s plans to expand are moving forward with designs in progress and money in the bank to anchor a six-story, mixed-use development on the block it calls home at 20th and Jackson.

“In order to achieve Pratt’s long term vision, we have worked tirelessly to find the best way to accommodate Pratt’s growing need for additional facilities to better serve art students and independent artists,” Steve Galatro, Pratt executive director said. “This multifaceted development will expand our capacity, unlock new potential, strengthen the connections to our neighborhood, and ensure that creativity thrives in a dynamic urban campus for many years to come.”

Over the past four years, Pratt’s revamped programming model produced what the nonprofit called historic growth and record-high student enrollment. To build on these results, Pratt now has plans to expand its programs.

Pratt currently boasts 19,000 square feet of studio space in its two existing buildings, which will remain open during the expansion. The expansion will grow the campus by adding 75% of the block between S Jackson and S Main and 19th and 20th Aves. The new expansion will include instructional studio space, a new reception area, offices, an outdoor public courtyard, a community art gallery, and 14,000 square feet for drawing, painting, printmaking, letter pressing, book arts, and youth arts programs.

Pratt has already reached 70% of its funding goal for the project. Grants and donations will need to be secured to fully fund the project.

Graham Baba Architects and landscape architecture firm Gustafson Guthrie Nichol are designing the project.

The project is being prepared for design review. Crews are expected to break ground on the project in the spring of 2018.

Seattle-based Daniels Real Estate is the owner and manager of the development that will house the expansion along with 150 apartments, 100 underground parking spaces, and 10,000 square feet of retail. Pratt will own and manage its own campus facilities.

“This year, Pratt Fine Arts Center celebrates their 40th Anniversary. Helping them to stay in the Central Area and Expand their campus for the next 40-years is an honor,” said Kevin Daniels, president of Daniels Real Estate. “Pratt is a true community asset and this expansion helps to secure their tenure for many years to come.”