Dear Students, Staff, Family, Friends, and Alumni,
We hope you are all having a wonderful summer and trying to keep cool. The NAYB staff and faculty have been very busy planning and preparing for the fall. We have many exciting things taking place at NAYB this year and we would like to take this opportunity to share with you the most important news “hot off the press”.
Over the course of the past few years it had become apparent to our board, staff and faculty that our current facility on Coldwater Road was not meeting the needs of our school. First, the building is a high end commercial property with lease rates that continue to strap our finances. Second, the building has a limited amount of square footage with little potential for expansion. These two problems compounded together put us in a situation where we had to function at maximum enrollment capacity to be able to make our rent – yet at the same time maximum enrollment made it feel as if the walls were closing in on us with no room for growth.
Earlier this summer we set a course to begin a search for a new building with hopes to move in summer 2013 when our lease expired. However, God had different plans for NAYB and during the past two weeks a building was made available to us that was an ideal fit for our school. It is 40% bigger than our current facility, with the potential to more than double it’s size in the future. It is in a desirable, centralized location – and it has a very favorable lease rate. As if these factors were not convincing enough, we also were given the opportunity by our current landlord to be dismissed early from our lease. As the pieces all fell into place, it convinced us that the time was upon us to make the move.
As a result, we are very happy to announce that NAYB will be moving into our new facility in time for the first day of school. We will be moving to a location behind Northcrest Shopping Center. Directly behind the center are two office buildings. We will be located in one of these buildings, occupying most of the space, with potential to expand into the whole building in the future. As we mentioned earlier, the new facility is 40% larger than our current space. There is ample free parking and it will be very easy for students to safely enter the building. While located behind a major commercial center, this small office park is nicely landscaped, surprisingly quiet, and has a very safe and serene feel.
We signed our new lease just this morning. Over the course of the next four weeks the floor plan will be modified to suit our needs, including new carpet and paint throughout. We are excited that the new space will boast ample windows and skylights, larger dance studios with higher ceilings, increased classroom square footage, a comfortable waiting area for parents, separate locker and lounge areas for academics and ballet, and more storage space. The contractors estimate their work will be completed by the middle of August. While that is very close to the start of school, we are confident that the deadline will be met. We plan to unveil the new facility to our Training Program and Conservatory families at orientation, and to have an open house for the general public to show off our new home sometime in September.
Until we move in our offices will remain at the Coldwater location. We will be holding optional August ballet classes at Elite Dance Center (corner of Lima Rd. and Dupont Rd.) during the move. More information will be sent home about August classes next week. We will also be sending home a newsletter next month that will fill you in on some of the other exciting projects and events planned for this coming school year. Until then, we just could not wait to share the news of our new home. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to give us a call or send us an e-mail. Thank you for your support during this transition.
Sincerely,
Beth McLeish and Mark Bly, Deans
Words from the Artistic Director 