The groundbreaking of the Muse in Sturgeon Bay on Third Avenue and Jefferson Street, September 20, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
STURGEON BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A new development in Sturgeon Bay is addressing Door County’s need for affordable housing, while supporting the arts.
The community gathered Wednesday for the groundbreaking ceremony for the Muse development on Third Avenue and Jefferson Street.
The ground floor of the nearly 14,000 square-foot facility will be developed for Muse, a music school and indoor venue with an outdoor patio.
Muse executive director and Door County native, Kaira Rouer, says having a venue space open year round in the area is scarce.
“Having grown up here, I have definitely noticed throughout my lifetime that once the tourism season kind of starts to back off a little bit, a lot of businesses and artistic opportunities tend to close down over the winter, which makes sense, there’s less traffic flow, so we want to fill that gap, especially through the winter and provide enrichment for our community that I felt like, at least as a high schooler and young adult, that was very lacking at that time of year,” she said.
The music school will also have a string instrument program, something public schools in Door County do not have.
“Being a small county, our public schools have no string programs. It’s band or choir. And while we love those programs that we do have, we want to fill that gap as well and provide a space for those interested in learning violin, cello, bass, viola, even guitar and bass which I know there are definitely teachers out there that want to teach and people who want to learn,” Rouer said.
The second floor will feature 11 affordable studio apartments.
Construction is expected to be complete by May of 2024.



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