Mercer Island Center for the Arts (MICA) was pleased to host over 200 people at a meeting on June 23rd to present this exciting project to the public. Thank you to everyone who came out for it.

The meeting featured Mercer Islander and world-renowned trumpeter, Allen Vizzutti, who wowed the crowd with the virtuosic “Carnival of Venice” variations.

Following Vizzutti’s performance, MICA’s President, John Gordon Hill, presented the vision and goals for MICA, our design team offered design and timeline updates, and our planning team presented the already busy timeline and budget estimates.

We were grateful to MICA’s resident users, Youth Theatre NW, Music Mind Studio, Children’s Conservatory of Dance, and Music Works NW, who came to support the project and provide program information.

During the Q&A session Hill explained MICA would be mostly built on the abandoned recycling center site with a footprint well outside the walking path that encircles the great lawn of Mercerdale Park. It will have beautiful landscape work that will stabilize the hillside, manage water runoff, and improve the trails and stairs of the park.

Some suggested the now defunct Hines project for MICA’s site. Hill agreed that property would be a good site, if it weren’t for the acquisition and development expenses, which would at least double the cost of MICA’s capital campaign.

One repeated concern was parking. Our early parking survey revealed available evening parking in the Town Center is seven times greater than MICA’s maximum need. By working with businesses we will create mutually beneficial relationships that provide parking for performances and an economic boost to the Town Center.

The response to the public meeting was overwhelming supportive, and hundreds of Islanders walked into the warm summer evening buzzing with excitement about the Mercer Island Center for the Arts.

Learn more at mercerislandarts.org.

Louise Kincaid is MICA’s Executive Director. You can contact her at 206-715-7671 or at [email protected].