On Thursday evening, a group of invitees gathered to celebrate a crucial step in a decades-long dream. Designs were officially unveiled for a community performing arts center to be situated on College of Coastal Georgia’s campus.

Attendees, clad in black-and-white attire, milled about a tent erected on the future site of the center. The project, a joint effort between the Glynn County Board of Education and the college, will be partially financed by $20 million in ESPLOST 3 funds approved by voters in 2015. Private donors have also offered significant financial support. The college is a funding and oversight partner for the center.