Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) will receive $500,000, which will allow the College to protect and rehabilitate its historic Conservatory of Music building.
Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) announced 22 rural communities in Indiana will receive more than $12.5 million in federal grant funding through the Community Development Block Grant funds. These funds are awarded through local government to assist with community projects.
Vigo County was awarded this grant to assist with the historic preservation efforts at SMWC for the exterior, including limestone and brick, roof, downspouts and eaves, which will help protect the building from leaks and continued degradation.
In a press release about the grant awards, Lieutenant Governor Crouch, Indiana’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, said, “I am so proud of the leaders across Indiana that are committed to improving the quality of life of their communities. I look forward to seeing the completed projects and the benefits they will have for years to come.”
Dottie King, Ph.D., president of SMWC, is pleased about receiving the grant and the continued partnership that the College is forging with the Vigo County commissioners on this important project. “We are excited about the continued work on this historic building. It is a part of our legacy and history, and we are thankful for this collaboration with Vigo County.”
When the grant application was approved by the commissioners in September, Vigo County Commissioner Chris Switzer expressed the support of the commissioners to team up for this grant. “We want to save as many historic buildings as possible, and Vigo County had the opportunity to be the lead grant applicant.”
The Conservatory of Music, which hosts community events and is home to the Terre Haute Sinfonietta and Community Band, is a nationally registered historic building. It is a part of the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods Historic District, consisting of 66 buildings, sites, structures and objects owned by Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College and the Sisters of Providence. It was opened in 1913 and is inspired and patterned after the Leipzig Opera House, which was destroyed in Germany during WWII.
SMWC is working with Jerrell Consulting and Grant Administration LLC on this project.