The CASA sign outside of Strawberry Square in downtown Harrisburg.
The Capital Area School for the Arts is moving on up—to the third floor of Strawberry Square.
Starting next academic year, CASA will expand by one floor, into space once occupied by Gamut Theatre.
“The move is exciting for us,” said CEO and Principal Tim Wendling. “The improvements will allow CASA to support additional STEAM learning opportunities as well as sustain our academic needs well into the future.”
More than four years ago, Gamut relocated from its long-time home in Strawberry Square to the former First Church of God across N. 4th Street in downtown Harrisburg. Strawberry Square owner Harristown Enterprises has been searching since for a tenant for that third-floor space.
“It’s an ideal space for CASA to cement their future in Strawberry Square,” said Brad Jones, Harristown president and CEO. “Over time, they’ve really grown to find this to be a unique and opportune space for their campus.”
A public charter school, CASA offers full-day high school education for 200 students from 30 central Pennsylvania school districts.
According to CASA, the new, third-floor space above the food court will add classrooms, a science lab and several other academic spaces, bringing the school’s footprint to about 25,000 square feet over the first and third floors of Strawberry Square.
For the past several years, CASA has been leasing additional classroom space from Temple University Harrisburg, which is located on the other end of the office, residential and retail complex. The expansion should eliminate the need for that space.
Work on the new space, totaling about 10,000 square feet, is expected to start soon, with completion in time for the 2020-21 school year.
To pay for the lease and the build-out, the CASA Charter School Foundation has begun a campaign to raise $1.6 million.
The Capital Area School for the Arts (CASA) is located in Strawberry Square, downtown Harrisburg. For more information, visit www.casaarts.org. To contribute to the CASA Charter School Foundation’s capital campaign, visit www.CASAfound.org.
