The fireside room of the city-owned Steeple Center addition includes a spacious area with windows from nearly the floor to the ceiling. (Photo by Tad Johnson)
by Tad Johnson
Sun Thisweek-Dakota County Tribune
Nov. 5, 2015
The city of Rosemount workers planted a tree outside the Steeple Center last week.
“It’s still rather small, but it has great potential,” said John Loch, longtime community volunteer and Rosemount Area Arts Council member.
The young evergreen tree is a fitting symbol for the current growth arc of the arts, entertainment and activity center for which work on its addition is almost complete.
“It feels like it is going to be a great space,” Rosemount Parks and Recreation Director Dan Schultz said. “It is welcoming. We hope it gets a lot of use.”
The 10,000-square-foot addition, which is located between the current Steeple Center arts and event venue and the future senior housing facility The Rosemount, aims to be a casual gathering space and a site for planned activities.
While RAAC and the Rosemount Area Seniors are looking forward to the new activity areas, the fireside room and adjoining outdoor courtyard offer gathering spaces unlike any found in the city.
“People are going to be really happy with it,” Loch said. “I think it’s going to be a gathering area.”
The tile floor of a second-story activity room will make it feasible for use with a variety of arts projects. (Photo by Tad Johnson)
The courtyard will feature trees and other plantings around a patio for several tables and chairs.
The fireside room faces southwest with windows that stretch from nearly the floor to the top of the two-story vaulted ceiling.
It will have a counter, from which coffee will be served. Members of RAAC and the Rosemount Area Seniors will offer community information at what is called the Front Porch in the space.
The Front Porch was established in December 2012 when the city and RAAC drew up a contract that would have the nonprofit’s members staff the “visitor center” at the Steeple Center in exchange for free use of the facility.
That agreement will continue at the new center.
Loch says that extension is a recognition that RAAC provides great value to the city-owned venue. RAAC has organized scores of events annually since 2013.
Even more are expected now that full use of the Steeple Center is back online.
RAAC aims to build on the momentum of the addition’s completion by recruiting members of the community to serve as teachers of new class offerings. A story in a future edition will cover this new initiative.
While the new center will boost RAAC arts activity potential, the site will provide a significant upgrade for the Rosemount Area Seniors.
The senior group currently meets in a room at the Rosemount Community Center that has no windows.
The first-floor room that is slated to become the new Do Drop Inn has a large bank of east-facing windows that look out to South Robert Trail.
“The seniors are excited,” Schultz said. “They should feel a little more comfortable here. Right now they meet in a room that doesn’t have a window. We hope this gives them more of a connection to the community.”
“They love the windows,” Loch said. “How could you not like that and to move to a much bigger room?”
On the second floor are two large meeting and activity rooms, one of which has a tile floor.
“It’s a great room with the windows overlooking the court,” Loch said. “We expressed we needed a room with a tile floor.”
The Rosemount Community Center’s carpeted floors limited the kinds of art activities that could be planned there, but the tile floor at the Steeple Center will allow for activities such as pottery and those that involve glue, sprinkles and glitter.
Loch said the size of the room could allow for three different activities at once.
The other second-floor activity room that faces east has a temporary dividing wall that can be extended to create two separate spaces.
All of the rooms have running water, cabinets and will provide wireless Internet access. The first floor also has a full catering kitchen.
Schultz said he is very happy with the overall project.
“We had a good crew working on it,” Schultz said.
The city worked with an interior designer to select color and finishes that aimed to give the space a home-like feel, according to Schultz.
The Parks and Recreation Department will start accepting 2016 reservations for the Steeple Center in mid-November.
The old and new spaces of the Steeple Center can be used for meetings, events, fundraisers, parties, wedding ceremonies or receptions.
The Assembly Hall in the former St. Joseph Church seats 192 with tables and chairs or 204 in theater-style rows.
For more information call Rosemount Parks and Recreation at 651-322-6000.
Tad Johnson 