The Consumers Energy Foundation is providing $300,000 for the Marketplace Food Festival Kitchen, a city-led effort in the former Vermeulen’s Furniture building on Cortland Street to develop space for chefs to hone their skills and develop their businesses as part of the overall $1.3 million project. Work is expected to start in July and be complete by December.
The Jackson School of the Arts is receiving $200,000 to support its relocation to the historic Masonic Temple building on Cortland Street where it will create a center for the arts and offer programs in the visual and performing arts. The new downtown destination will also include an exhibit gallery and retail space. The organization's enrollment has grown 2,000 percent in the last decade, creating the need to expand. Its mission to make the arts accessible to all regardless of income remains the same.
“This generous grant is an investment in our community and in the thousands of people we are already serving with enriching arts education programs. It also gives our robust organization room to grow,” said Kim Curtis, Jackson School of the Arts executive director.