Budget for Short Street garage art project increased

COLUMBIA — The budget for the Short Street parking garage art project has increased to stay on pace with the revised estimated budget of the planned garage.

The art budget has increased from $70,000 to $83,000, said Chris Stevens, manager of the city's Office of Cultural Affairs.

The planned garage is included in the Percent for Art project. The project allocates 1 percent of the cost of all above-ground capital improvement projects that exceed $1 million to fund the creation and placement of public art.

The estimate of the budget for the garage is $8.3 million, an increase from the original estimate of $7 million, Stevens said.

The original estimate was based on a 300-space garage, but the City Council has since approved an upgrade to 410 spaces, adding to the cost.

"We hope we will be able to do more and have a bigger impact with the art for the Short Street garage now that the budget has increased from $70,000 to $83,000," Stevens said.

In addition, the deadline for artists to submit their qualifications to the Standing Committee on Public Art has been extended to March 16.

"The scope of the project has changed since it was first proposed," Stevens said. "The original deadline was Feb. 17, and there had been two applications so far. With the increase in budget and the extension of the deadline, I do expect to get additional applications."

Of the $83,000 budget, approximately $25,000 will be used for supplementary costs, allowing $58,000 for the actual art project.

"We sent a postcard to all the artists on our database making them aware of the increase in budget and extension of the deadline," Stevens said. "This particular project was limited to Missouri artists."