ESCONDIDO (KGTV) — John Paul the Great Catholic University is nearly finished renovating a former Sears building into a 30,000-square-foot creative arts complex in downtown Escondido. The building, located near Grand Avenue, will officially open when the fall semester begins Oct. 1.
The renovation doubles the size of the university's downtown campus. The new space will provide studios for students in fashion, business and animation programs.
University President Derry Connolly said the building sat empty for a decade before the project began. The university moved to downtown Escondido in 2013 and purchased the former Sears building in 2016.
Mission Advancement Director Ken Scharrar said the complex will benefit both students and the surrounding community.
"They might be drawing storyboards for movies, things like that, or just pure artists that want to have, you know, start with Etsy and work their way up to, you know, Amazon or eBay with their work and we have quite a few students who are very entrepreneurial in nature so that they can build their own business," Scharrar said.
Connolly also noted the university's growing presence along Grand Avenue contributes to foot traffic for nearby businesses.
"It lives at the other side of Grand Avenue, so they have a strong presence walking up and down the streets so there are customers for all the coffee shops and restaurants and more importantly, they work in the coffee shops and restaurants," Connolly said.
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