Beach Art Center will receive makeover

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH -- Long-awaited renovations to the Beach Art Center are scheduled to start this month.

The center, at 1515 Bay Palm Blvd., will receive a new outside facade, new restrooms and a more visible gift shop. Director Betsy Schoepf said the renovations will increase the size of the 4,000-square-foot center slightly, but will make existing space more usable by knocking out some walls and adding storage areas.

Schoepf said construction will start in mid April and take about 120 days.

"So we should be all new and pretty and ready to start again in September," she said.

There will be no classes during the renovation, and the center's summer program for children is canceled.

The $143,000 cost of the project will be paid for with a grant from the state Division of Cultural Affairs.

"These renovations are mostly cosmetic," Schoepf said. "Therefore they are not high-ticket items."

The renovated facade will be more modern and have a metal roof. There also will be a formal entrance and reception area.

The art center offers classes in painting, pottery and other media. It is a private, nonprofit organization funded by the city of Indian Rocks Beach, Pinellas County, membership fees, class fees and donations. Schoepf said the annual budget is about $98,000.

The center has two buildings connected by a hallway. One side was built in 1959, the other in 1981.

The art center started in 1978 as part of the American Legion chapter that originally occupied the older building. The Legion chapter eventually dissolved and the buildings fell into disrepair. The roof collapsed on one side and the entire facility was condemned by the city.

Residents and businesses pitched in to repair the buildings, and the center was revitalized. Schoepf came on as assistant director in 1996 and later was named director. She is the only full-time employee.

The art center has about 350 members, many of them winter residents.

Peggy Accuosti, 65, who winters here from Connecticut, joined 10 years ago. "When I first started there, they were really struggling," she said. "It's just turned into a good center. You can find something to do any day."

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