CENTERVILLE — Before the show can go on, it has to get started.

Groundbreaking on the long-planned Davis Cultural Arts Center has been scheduled for May 28 at 10 a.m. on the Arts Center site, located at 535 N. 400 W. (the north side of Parrish Lane). The project, formerly known as the South Davis Cultural Arts Center, will be starting the first of its three planned phases of construction.

“The funding is in place and we are ready to go,” said Centerville City Mayor Ronald Russell. “It’s very exciting.”

The initial phase of the project will start with removing the rock and dirt that has been sitting on the site for several months and squeezing water out of the soil beneath. It will then continue to all footings, foundations, and site utilities needed for the project.

“Basically, everything that’s needed under ground level,” said Centerville City Manager Steve Thacker.

Over the next two months, the city will also send out bid packages on the final two phases of the project. The first phase of the final project will include structural steel and masonry walls, as well as exterior work, and the second will include all inside work on the building.

According to current plans, the final project will be a more than 50,000 square-foot, three-story structure, complete with a main stage, a black box theater, and a small outdoor amphitheater.

The final site plan for the project was approved by the Centerville City Planning Commission early last month, though the approval left the designers some room to refine subtle elements of the design as construction progresses.

City officials have been working on securing bonds for the project, which the Centerville City Council finalized and formally approved in Tuesday’s meeting.

Though the bonds were actually sought by the city council in order to give them a higher rating and lower interest rates, the money to pay back the bonds will still be coming from money already earmarked for the project from the Recreation, Arts, and Parks Tax (RAP) and the Centerville RDA. Private donations will also be included in the final amount.

jwardell@davisclipper.com