Sep. 10 -- Construction of the Alabama Center for the Arts Music & Movement Academy is slated to begin this month and to be completed in time for classes to begin in January 2026, officials said Monday.

"A lot of people think that our art classes are designed to create artists and dancers and things like that," director of the Alabama Center for the Arts and Calhoun Community College Dean of Fine Arts Kim Parker said Monday. "They are, but they're also designed to create well-rounded individuals who think critically. Art classes do a lot more for us than just teach us how to dance or paint. They teach us how to appreciate the world around us and how to solve problems.

"This expansion will give us the opportunity to do that in a much broader way."

The two-story, 14,000-square-foot facility will be located next to The Brick Deli at 112 E. Moulton St. in downtown Decatur. It will be directly behind the ACA performing arts building, and a block from the new ACA residence hall. There will also be a 3,170-square-foot storage building built just north of the alley between First and Second avenues. A ground-breaking ceremony for the facility was held Monday.

Parker said the first floor will have a large dance area with temporary seating for performances, a music chamber room, changing rooms, restrooms and a lobby. The second floor, she said, will have an additional large dance area, music practice rooms, listening rooms, and a multi-purpose room. Parker said the facility will feature a mezzanine and a roof terrace for small gatherings.

"Prior to this, we haven't really offered dance; we don't have a dance program. We do have some dance classes for musical theater, but nothing that the kids can major in," Parker said. "We've also outgrown a number of our music spaces. We really do need to expand that program as it grows, and then give ourselves a place to explore dance and movement."

The academy will also be available for dual-enrollment high schoolers from the Decatur City Schools system. Superintendent Michael Douglas said they already send five to 10 dual-enrollment students to the ACA.

"Obviously, with the new building, the new offerings, this facility will be able to offer things that we don't offer, like the dance portion," he said. "We anticipate the numbers to be endless when you start doing dance and all of the things that we don't currently offer. We anticipate that number could be anywhere between 50 and 100 students a year, which would be able to have access to dual-enrollment credit through the ACA."

Calhoun President Jimmy Hodges said the academy will open up opportunities for ACA students that they have never had before.

"We've never had a dance studio that will be for professional dance, as well as a lot of music rooms where individuals can practice their music," he said. "It's just another diamond in the city of Decatur for the Alabama Center for the Arts."

Catherine Wehlburg, Athens State University president, said the academy will bring together ACA and DCS students, and music and movement. She said with existing buildings and buildings being renovated or built, the ACA's presence is growing in downtown Decatur.

"I think we are truly becoming the Alabama Center for the Arts, not just the ACA," Wehlburg said. "This is for the whole state, and with every new building this becomes a destination place for the arts -- across the state and around the region."

State Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, said they have been planning for the academy for the last two years. He said $12.88 million of the funds for the academy came from the legislative delegation. Orr said the delegation committed $4 million from the Tennessee Valley Authority in-lieu-of-tax revenue over 10 years, and DCS committed to $2 million over 10 years.