Institute for Creative Arts receives $5 million to help finish construction

The Community School of the Arts (CSA) announced Wednesday (April 10) that it has received $5 million to assist in construction and other costs of the Institute for the Creative Arts, the state’s first performing and creative arts charter high school, which will open in August in downtown Fort Smith.

“It is so fortunate that we received this,” said Dr. Rosilee Russell, founder and executive director of Community School of the Arts. “This will allow us to complete the work from the lobby to the classroom side of the building so we can move in the summer and open on our campus in August.”

The Arkansas Board of Education gave final approval for the Institute for the Creative Arts at its meeting on Dec. 15, officially starting the state’s first performing and visual arts high school. With that final approval, the high school is preparing to open in August in Fort Smith.

The school will be housed in the Community School of the Arts’ (CSA) new 42,000-square-foot Center for Creative Art building at 1101 Riverfront Drive in Fort Smith, just north of the U.S. Marshals Museum along the Arkansas River.

The funding comes from the federal New Markets Tax Credit Program. Established by Congress in December 2000, the program is designed to attract private-sector capital investments into the nation’s urban and rural low-income areas in an effort to help expand access to quality jobs, healthcare, education, and other critical services in those communities. The NMTC program increases the flow of capital to businesses and low-income communities by providing a tax incentive to private investors, making the program an investment option for businesses and investors.

CSA’s funding through New Markets Tax Credits is the first time the Fort Smith community has benefitted from this program, though others in Arkansas have received benefits from the program, Russell said. CSA received $25 million of tax credit allocation from New York City-based Civic Builders and worked with Hope Enterprise Corporation/Hope Credit Union (HOPE) and the Low-Income Investment Fund (LIIF) for lending needs and with Regions Bank, who provided the NMTC investment.

The collaboration resulted in a net subsidy of approximately $5 million that is being used to complete the lobby area and classroom spaces of the facility that will house arts education programs for children and youth of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds, a news release said. Russell said Civic Builders works in cooperation with the Walton Foundation and helps provide low-interest loans for “high-quality public charter schools” across the nation, Russell said.

“But that is not what we have. We did not get a loan. What we have was truly a gift,” she said.

The focus of CSA is to build a culture of arts education for young children through high school age with access for all. CSA offers after-school, evening, and weekend programs for children and youth of all ages and skill levels taught by professional artists.

“In 2018, CSA embarked upon a campaign to build the Center for the Creative Arts, a state-of-the-art facility that will reach literally thousands of students and families for arts activities and serve alongside the United States Marshals Museum as an anchor for Fort Smith’s riverfront development. The funding from the NMTC is making this dream a reality,” noted a CSA statement. “The addition of the Center is a game-changer for the region as it will attract people to the downtown and riverfront areas. Concerts and shows year-round, outdoor gathering spaces, flexible-use event spaces and an annual arts festival will mean the new facility will be in high demand.”

The Institute will combine a college-preparatory academic program with pre-professional training in the arts, including music, theater, dance, visual art, film and culinary arts. The school will specialize in arts programs not typically offered in a traditional high school.

Russell has said students will be immersed in one or more arts disciplines of their choice and spend several hours weekly training and honing their skills. Professional musicians, actors, dancers, filmmakers, and artists will provide a link between ICA students and the professional art world. Academic instructors will be highly trained in their field and will actively engage in preparing students for college and beyond, she said.

“In their opening year, most charter schools strive to open with about 100 students,” Russell said. “I would love for us to have 150 students when we open in August.”

The school is interviewing instructors and hopes to have staff in place in the next few months. It is also accepting enrollment applications. The Institute will be tuition-free and open to all students.

“Civic Builders is proud to partner with Community School of the Arts to bring a new state-of-the-art facility for a fantastic public charter school and after-school program to Fort Smith,” said David Umansky, CEO of Civic Builders. “As a nonprofit lender and developer, our organization’s mission is to support the growth of high-quality charter schools across the country, particularly in communities such as Fort Smith that are committed to advancing access to excellent education for all students.”

Cheryl Howell, Regions Bank market executive in Fort Smith, said that Regions Bank was also thrilled to invest in the school.