With the new year, the time has come for Asheville to move ahead with The Performance Center, a proposed state-of-the-art entertainment facility to support the growing cultural arts of the area.

The 2,000-seat center is projected to cost $55 million, with funding coming from public and private partnerships, coordinated by the Asheville Area Center for the Performing Arts.

The Performance Center is expected to generate 351 jobs for Buncombe County, including 91 in the restaurant and lodging industry, and 57 people in the retail trade.

The new venue could generate $19.5 million in new visitor spending, based on a study by SYNEVA, an Asheville-based private consultancy led by research economist Tom Tveidt.

Interestingly, the location for the new center is still undecided, as there are six undisclosed, potential sites being researched by AACPA.

While Asheville already is home to multiple charming venues, such as Thomas Wolfe Auditorium and Diana Wortham Theatre, The Performance Center will be aimed at bringing acts to Asheville that do not already perform here.

In turn, this would “build upon the existing performance menu, rather than duplicate it,” Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer noted recently.

Facing friendly competition for entertainment acts from neighboring cities such as Greenville, Tenn., Charlotte and Greensboro, the proposed facility would provide Asheville with a top-notch performance complex to stay in the race.

The biggest question remains the issue of funding: where will the $55 million come from?

Based on all we have seen through the years in this can-do community, we have confidence that area arts-lovers will come together to make this dream a reality in 2015.