FARMINGTON — Work on the new Emery Community Art Center on the campus of the University of Maine at Farmington began earlier this month.

A Vermont contractor from the Portland office of Pizzagalli Construction Co. was recently chosen as the general contractor for the new 15,000-square-foot building adjacent to Alumni Theater and behind Merrill Hall.

Construction is expected to be completed in August of 2011. The employee-owned contractor, Pizzagalli, has extensive expertise working on higher education and arts facilities.

The new community art center was named in honor of local arts enthusiasts Ted and Marguerite Emery and designed by designLAB Architects of Boston. A $5 million gift from an anonymous benefactor provided funding for the plans that include it becoming a cultural center for the region while complementing UMF’s Nordica Auditorium and Alumni Theater.

After University planners listened to community concerns about a year ago, a revamped design was presented eliminating a large, partially glassed lobby encasing Alumni Theater and promoting a longer building running adjacent to west side of Alumni Theater and Dearborn Gymnasium, looking at it from Academy Street.

The art center will include a 100-seat multipurpose performance area, large barn door opening on to the campus green area between university buildings on High and Main streets and an art quad off Academy Street.

Along with an entrance from the art quad, the new plans provide direct access to the Art Center from a current parking lot behind the psychology building or what was a Methodist Church.

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