Supply chain issues delay Westchester Cultural Arts Center

Plans to celebrate the grand opening of the Westchester Cultural Arts Center have been pushed back to March 2022 – correlating with the launch of East Park, a new outdoor performing arts space.

Originally slated for an inauguration in November, the cultural arts center, which was built by TGSV Enterprises Inc., is expected to share the limelight with East Park, which is directly adjacent, said Michael Spring of the County of Culture Department of Miami-Dade. Director of Business.

Tropical Park’s $ 6.8 million cultural arts center at 7930 SW 40th St. is also awaiting amenities such as sound and lighting, bleachers and seating, he said. The center, designed by Zyscovich Architects, will include a 200-seat studio-theater and supporting spaces, including a lobby that will serve as an art gallery.

“We’re kind of caught in a supply chain conundrum where things that could have been bought faster are now taking a while to buy and deliver,” Spring said. “But we think we will have the equipment in the building and the park completed for the grand opening in March 2022.”

Preliminary activities are underway at the center to test the building and see how it works, he said. The Roxy Theater Group, which manages and operates the center, currently rents equipment and shows the building to locals.

Roxy will be responsible for all costs, programming and maintenance of the arts center, estimating annual expenses at $ 750,000. The management and operation contract is for a period of 30 years, possibly with two renewals of 30 years.

The county has also budgeted and allocated an additional $ 380,000 for the facility’s operations and overhead costs. These funds are intended to cover overhead costs and security maintenance. Roxy will also be awarded a grant agreement to increase and raise her own funds for programming and educational activities.

Located on the east side of the Westchester Cultural Arts Center, East Park was just an open field and not really used for anything, Spring said.

When complete, the park will offer lush landscaping, a stand-alone building for outdoor picnic-style performances as well as a set of restrooms so that the park can be used independently of the center itself and both can be used at the same time, he added.

“The Westchester Cultural Arts Center is a magnificent building,” said Mr. Spring, “and we see it as a prototype of buildings that can be built in other parts of the county in the future and serve underserved neighborhoods. “