Eric Dillner, CEO and executive director of the Shoreline Arts Alliance (SAA), is excited about the buzz surrounding the process of moving the SAA into the Academy School building in Madison. He is hoping to sign the lease by late spring.

Dillner said that SAA and the Town of Madison signed a letter of intent after exploring Phase I, which presented conceptual plans for the project. Mike Ott, Madison’s town engineer, is currently seeking a firm to complete a building assessment.

“They’ll look at the building in its current state so when we enter into our lease, our eyes are wide open,” said Dillner. “The letter of intent is a commitment from the town and the SAA that we’re moving this forward.”

Newly elected First Selectman Tom Banisch has already met with the SAA to discuss the proposal, noting he is “confident” the town can present a lease in the coming months.

“It’s time to step up the pace and get it moving,” said Banisch. “I told them, ‘I want to put you in the position where you have the lease and you can raise the money.’”

While Dillner waits for the findings of the assessment and the parties work toward the lease agreement, supporters of SAA have been busy hosting informational gatherings about the intent of the project and the goals for the building. More than 15 families in the area have agreed to host gatherings.

“These gatherings bring people together to give some more in-depth conversation about what our plan is for the building,” said Dillner. “It allows us to share our vision for the project and offers a lot of opportunity for people to ask questions or explore their ideas for the space, which is so helpful because we’re so collaborative in nature. The more people we have giving input, the more we will be able to give the community what they’re looking for.”

While SAA had some ideas on what it would like to offer in the building, many other ideas have come from the informational sessions. One idea was to host a New England-wide arts exhibition.

SAA has also worked with Yale School of Architecture to examine different uses for the building. Dillner explained that Yale presented several areas in the school that could serve as multi-purpose rooms, such as the gymnasium, which could be transformed to hold lectures, dance instruction, or theater in the round.

In addition to visual and dramatic arts, SAA plans to feature culinary arts, as well. The culinary arts can also be housed in a multi-purpose area that would feature gallery lighting and could serve as space for a cabaret.

“Our vision is basically to transform the space into an incubator for creativity,” said Dillner. “The facility is a good size and has the ability to put in art forms at large and not be tied to any one art form. If anything, what we’re concerned with is, ‘Do we have enough space to do all of these activities?’”

SAA—a non-profit organization that is a state-designated arts council for 24 towns—has set a fundraising goal of $500,000 and is already nearly halfway to that goal with $245,000 raised so far. Dillner notes that if the late-spring lease works out, it will be good timing as SAA will be celebrating its 35th anniversary.

“Our goal is to build the organization as strong as we possibly can before we move into the building,” said Dillner, who noted the next big fundraiser is on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016, with the Mardi Gras Gala at the Guilford Yacht Club. “We have had such great support at the state level and have been building that for 35 years. This project is the natural progression for the organization. It’s pretty exciting that as we have a turning point for the organization, it’s the perfect time because we’re strong and building ourselves to be even stronger.”

While Dillner has been excited about the growth of the organization and its plans for the future, he said he’s most excited about the outpouring of support he has seen from the community.

“The public support is almost a whirlwind and is coming out in a big way,” said Dillner. “We want to provide the region with the opportunity to experience the cultural arts center, along with a strong component of education. What’s exciting is now that we’ve started to share more about our vision, people are really getting behind the project.”

As one of Banisch’s goals is to bring more revenue into town, he is also hoping that the project fulfills SAA’s expectations.

“They’re telling me a cultural arts center brings in people and opportunities—anything we do to revitalize the School Street area is good for downtown,” said Banisch. “Just look at The Kate in Old Saybrook—they did that and bring people in all the time. It is great for restaurants and shops. That’s what we anticipate to be the result.”