An arts group has purchased a downtown Santa Barbara building, which it plans to turn into a music education center.
The Music Academy of the West bought the 18,000-square-foot building at the corner of State and Canon Perdido Streets.
Academy officials say they paid $10 million for the building and expect to spend another $15 million renovating it. The two-story structure will have rehearsal and performance space and host a number of music education programs.
The building most recently housed a women's clothing store. There were also proposals to turn it into a hotel.
Philanthropist Cheryl Goldberg contributed $20 million to the project. The Academy hopes to raise additional money to help pay for the $25 million project, which it wants to open in 2028.
For nearly eight decades, the Music Academy has brought some of the world’s top young classical musicians to its Montecito campus to help expand their talents. It also provides free music education programs in some local schools.
