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Renovations at the Bartlesville Community Center (BCC) are becoming more noticeable in-person and on social media, but great progress is being made to improve the facility.

BCC Managing Director Val Callaghan said you may notice when you walk inside the building that the kiosk in the lobby is gone as work to improve the box office continues. Callaghan said they are replacing the kiosk with a smaller front desk. She said they will put the desk in a better location so its not in the middle of all the activity in the lobby.

Gorman Construction is hard at work getting the construction of the lobby and box office complete. Callaghan said they believe the project should be complete in the near future. She said funding for the box office remodel has come from private grant funding the BCC received in 2019-2020.

The BCC has had to coordinate the box office/lobby project with the carpet replacement project that has been funded by the City of Bartlesville through Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) funding. Callaghan said the carpet project started after Christmas 2020. She said the carpet is complete with the exception of the front offices and a small area in the auditorium.

In addition to this, the BCC is working to have all of its auditorium seats re-upholstered. Callaghan said the Bartlesville community passed CIP funds for this project in 2013. She said the seats should be back in place by their first concert on Wednesday, Oct. 6. 800 chairs should be returned by the beginning of October. The other chairs will return later on as they finish the project.

On top of all of this, crews are replacing the concrete drive in front of the Bartlesville Community Center. Callaghan said this is possible thanks to CIP funding from the City of Bartlesville. She said the City had $1.2 million worth of projects just for the BCC in the 2013 CIP funding cycle.

Callaghan said the BCC feels very lucky and thankful for the community and the City of Bartlesville. She said they are able to complete these projects thanks to their support.

Despite the work out front of the BCC facility at 300 SE Adams Boulevard, Callaghan reminds the public that their offices are still open. She said the contractor working on the project feels confident that they will be able to finish the work in plenty of time for events to start in October.

Callaghan thanks the Bartlesville community for approving improvement projects because it helps the BCC keep the facility in good working order. She said it also provides an inviting space for people to host private events or attend performance events. The BCC feels overwhelmed and encouraged by the community's generosity.

Photo courtesy: BCC