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   The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center has been little more than an idea for so long that many people thought it would never happen.

    Now, after nine years of looking, the MAEC museum has finally found a home.

    MAEC board member Clay Holladay and board president Tommy Dulaney announced Tuesday that the Montana’s restaurant property on Front Street has been purchased and will become the site of the museum along with the adjoining Meridian Hotel property.

    The hotel was donated to MAEC by its owners, Manny and Melanie Mitchell. Melanie Mitchell is a member of the MAEC board and is on its building committee. The Montana’s property was purchased for $300,000.

    Together, the properties stretch along the block between 22nd and 21st Avenues on the south side of Front Street, flanked on one end by the 22nd Avenue Bridge and on the other end by Union Station.

    The project is partly funded by $4 million granted by the state. The Legislature approved the project in 2001. Dulaney said in an interview Monday that any other money needed for the project will have to come through fundraising. The expected price tag is about $18 million.

    The project was originally planned to be on a larger scale and located at Bonita Lakes. After both Hurricane Katrina and the completion of the MSU Riley Center renovation, the board decided to construct the museum downtown instead.

    Dulaney said Governor Haley Barbour made the suggestion that the museum be located downtown, both because of ongoing downtown revitalization efforts in Meridian and because constructing the museum downtown was deemed less expensive.

    Dulaney said the original Bonita Lakes plan, which was extensive, would have cost more than $100 million to carry out. Though the original plan has changed, Dulaney said the MAEC board still hopes to eventually place an amphitheater at Bonita.

    Now that there is a definite location for the MAEC museum, Holladay said the next step is to advertise for and hire an architect. He said the architect will decide whether to use either of the existing buildings on the property or demolish them to build the museum.

    Holladay said it is still not certain exactly what will be in the museum, but he said part of it will be the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Hall of Fame. Dulaney said the goal of MAEC is to make the museum interesting and interactive.

    “We want it to be something really nice, not just pictures on the wall — a lot of interactive stuff,” Dulaney said.

    Dulaney added that it’s possible the Jimmie Rodgers museum, currently located at Highland Park, will be moved to the MAEC museum site, along with the locomotive that sits outside the Jimmie Rodgers museum.

    Whatever goes into the museum, Dulaney and Holladay said they hope it will draw tourism for both Mississippi and Lauderdale County.

    “We’re now going to give one more reason to pull into Meridian,” said Holladay, “spend money, eat food, spend the night.”

    “We think it will add to the development of downtown,” he added, “especially Front Street.”

    Putting the museum downtown is beneficial not only for downtown revitalization, Holladay said, but for the museum itself because it will be easy to find and will be within walking distance from the MSU Riley Center and the Temple Theater, which are the most prominent entertainment venues in Meridian.

    Though the benefit to Meridian and Lauderdale County has the potential to be enormous, Holladay said he wants to make sure it’s not forgotten that the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center is a statewide project.

    “We want different communities from around the state to have input,” he said. “It’s best for Meridian and Lauderdale County if we do bring in different people from different parts of the state and make it a statewide facility.”

    Dulaney estimated the museum project will take three to four years to complete, and said a groundbreaking may happen as soon as next spring.

    For more information on the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Center, visit the Web site at www.msarts.org.