Even with carpets ripped out, ceilings exposed and construction material everywhere, it's obvious the new Dahl is going to be greatly enhanced when the second phase of the project is completed late this year.

"It's much more of a museum gallery space," Dahl executive director Linda Anderson said Friday during a tour of the under-construction original Dahl building. "We have about 2-1/2 times more display space than before. It provides more of a museum feel, and all of these spaces will be climate controlled."

Construction of the $6.75 million project is a little more than half complete. The first phase started in April 2007 to completely renovate and remodel the old Montana Dakota Utilities building on Kansas City Street and wrapped up last November.

The Dahl Education Complex, a fully equipped arts education facility that includes painting, drawing and pottery classrooms, artist and arts organization offices, meeting rooms and small performance and gallery spaces, opened in December.

Work has now swung to the renovation of the original Dahl building and the construction of the event center.

The old, cramped arts council offices that had been located to the left of the original Dahl entrance have been opened up by removing walls. Eventually, that space will be home to the interactive children's area.

Special care has been taken to protect the Dahl's famed 180-foot cyclorama mural of American economic history. The room is kept heated to a constant temperature, unlike the rest of the construction site.

In the former theater space, the Adelstein gallery will feature an 18-foot ceiling, access to an exterior loading dock and a freight elevator to lower-level storage and work areas. Anderson said the Adelstein gallery will be the first of its kind in Rapid City.

"We have no other galleries in town for large sculpture or installation or a place for an artist to come in and create a piece of work," she said.

The basement is being renovated into a preparation and storage area. Anderson said the Dahl has never had a separate area to unpack and prepare art to be shown. Staff always had to uncrate the pieces in the gallery areas, which often meant dealing with various stowaway critters like mice and bugs.

"It means the galleries will be closed for shorter periods of time, and we have access to security and climate control, which means we can get higher quality shows," she said.

When finished, the south side of the Dahl complex will feature five climate-controlled galleries including a children's interactive learning center and the 180-foot, hand-painted cyclorama of American Economic History.

The flexible event center is designed to accommodate performances for an audience of 250 people or fewer and to provide space for after-school programs, workshops, receptions, sit-down dinners, films and convention meetings.

Heather Krafka, with ForeFront Design, said cold weather may have caused some delay in work, but not significantly. She said the building is really starting to take shape.

"As far as the construction goes, having the majority of the steel up really gives a sense of the volume of the building and what it will be like when the two existing buildings are connected with the addition," she said.

Rod Johnson, project manager for Rapid City, said the project has been somewhat challenging because it involves renovating two buildings and building a third new one.

"We're trying to blend them all together. It's made it challenging, to say the least," he said.

Thom Palm, job-site supervisor for Scull Construction, said between 20 and 35 people are on site each day. Compared to other projects he has built - including the library, Security First Bank and the Big Brothers Big Sisters facility - the Dahl is the most challenging, "probably because of the phasing," he said.

"We have to keep them in operation while we're building," he said. "And it's always a challenge working downtown. Obviously, we're dealing with closed-off road areas, and the Kansas City Street project when we first started. Now it's more parking, traffic control, security. You don't have 80 acres spread out."

The new Dahl is expected to open late this year. Anderson said October is the target completion date for the project, but the building likely won't be open to the public until a little later in the year. The Rapid City Arts Council has begun a capital campaign to raise $500,000 for furnishings - including portable stages and risers, lighting and sound systems and interactive displays.

About half of the overall project cost was paid for with private donations; the remainder came from $3.25 million in Vision 2012 sales-tax funds from the city.

What's going on with the Dahl Arts Center construction?

-The first phase started in April 2007 to renovate and remodel the old Montana Dakota Utilities building on Kansas City Street. That work wrapped up last November.

-The Dahl Education Complex arts education facility opened in December.

- The second phase is now under way, with workers renovating the original Dahl building and creating an event center.

- The new Dahl is expected to open in late this year.

- The Rapid City Arts Council has begun a capital campaign to raise $500,000 for furnishings.

Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com