The following statement was issued today by Kristen Hardy President of the Bronzeville Center for the Arts (BCA) board following the State Building Commission’s vote to approve BCA’s offer to purchase a 3.4-acre property owned by the state and previously occupied by the Wisconsin DNR Southeast Regional Headquarters and Milwaukee Service Center:

“We thank the State Building Commission for advancing our proposed offer to purchase.  Today’s approval was a tremendous step forward for the Bronzeville Center for the Arts and African American artists, art historians, and art enthusiasts in our community, around the state, and across the nation. As we seek additional approval from the Joint Committee on Finance, we are encouraged by the groundswell of support we have received from the community and look forward to continuing to develop a shared vision for a world-class art and cultural center in the heart of Milwaukee’s Bronzeville District.”