A project that will transform a former KKK building into the Fred Rouse Center for Arts and Community Healing is gaining momentum, as preparation work has begun to remake the dilapidated but historic building into something new.
Inside, the building still shows signs of years of neglect, with graffiti on the walls and windows boarded up. Steel beams and wood are separated in piles around the building. On Tuesday, the sound of a saw cutting through 100 years of bricks filled the air.
Transform 1012 N. Main Street is a coalition of organizations with a mission to transform the building at 1012 N. Main St. from a symbol of hate into the new Fred Rouse Center. A ceiling and wall breaking ceremony was held Tuesday morning in preparation for construction to begin in 2027…