For years Keith Vogt, chairman of the board of the Tahoe Regional Arts Foundation, has had a vision of a performing arts facility that will enrich the culture of the Truckee community.

With funding from Placer County and the Tahoe Mountain Resort Foundation as well as community support, the Arts Foundation is getting closer to its goal.

“Before you can go anywhere you need to have a dream,” Vogt told the Truckee Town Council last week. “And then you have to make it reality. We’ve been dreaming for a number of years.”

The Stages at Northstar project is now moving forward to develop an Environmental Impact Report that Vogt said should be completed in the next year and a half, depending on funding. Following the completion of that report construction could begin on the site between 2021 and 2022, with the facility opening in 2023, he said.

The project will be located on a 22-acre site at Northstar and will feature a 75,000 square-foot complex. According to the project website the vast majority of the 22-acre site will remain natural forest land. The facility will include a professional indoor theatre that seats 650 patrons, an outdoor amphitheatre with flexible seating for up to 3,500 patrons, and a black box theater seating up to 150 patrons.

Vogt said the black box theater will be utilized as an educational facility as well as a space for community group performances, lectures and meetings.

“We’re going to have a large focus on education. We hope to work with the school district, the community college and a couple universities as well,” he said.

The site will also host a variety of other activities including broadway shows hosted by local theater groups. A large lobby will be the site for special events, artist receptions, a visual arts gallery, art auctions and fundraising events.

In addition he said they are shooting for a zero net energy project, reaching for the highest level of LEED and WELL Building certifications, which promote sustainability and public health. Construction of the building will include systems for renewable energy, natural lighting and energy efficiency, according to the project website. The project will also be designed to blend in with the mountain landscape.

“We want to be a good neighbor,” said Vogt.

Hannah Jones is a reporter for the Sierra Sun. She can be reached at 530-550-2652 or hjones@sierrasun.com.