Holland College performing arts hall almost ready

Holland College gave a sneak peak of its new $2.6 million performing arts space Monday, which is opening in about a month.

The new Florence Simmons Performance Hall is in the final stages of construction, with sound, lighting and seating all being installed.

School of Performing Arts student Mollie Trainor can't wait to start using the hall.

"It is amazing," she enthused. "It's so much bigger than I thought it was going to be. It's going to be a really great space."

The building has been under renovation for about a year. Built in 1932, it was used for exams, performances, and athletic events. Now, it will seat 303 people.

Michael O'Grady, VP of innovation, enterprise and strategic development at Holland College, hopes it will attract more students to the performing arts program.

"We did not have a comparable space on campus so the students will be able to use this space for recitals, for practice, for teaching, and on performance night," said O'Grady.

It will be available to the community as well. O'Grady saidhe's already getting calls for people looking to book the space when students aren't using it.

The performing arts program has been offered at Holland College for five years, and currently has 75 students enrolled.