Add your name to Oakland history center

Here’s your chance to have your name included in Oakland’s latest project. The town of Oakland and the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation are offering naming opportunities for the Arts and Heritage Center at Oakland currently under construction west of Town Hall and north of Petris Avenue.

The opportunities range from $10,000 for display cases to $300,000 for the community meeting room. If you would like to foot the entire bill, you can have the entire building named for you or your business for $1.5 million.

Three already are spoken for: three bike racks ($5,000 each), the wall-hanging system ($10,000) and the courtyard concession wall ($30,000).

At a breakfast hosted Friday, Feb. 22, by the town of Oakland, an updated layout plan for the building was unveiled. The biggest change has been to add a second, smaller, meeting room in the space.

The town is partnering with the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation to help Oakland maintain its identity, Mayor Kathy Stark said. The WGHF will store Oakland’s historical memorabilia in its climate-controlled space, and the town’s history will be on display on a rotating basis.

A capital campaign has netted three large commitments so far totaling more than $500,000. Vendors, such as landscapers, also are being solicited to help fund the project with in-kind donations.

The total project will cost $1.25 million. The town has received a $225,000 Arts and Cultural Affairs grant and a $182,000 grant from Orange County Parks and Recreation and has secured a $1 million loan with an early-payment provision so any funds not needed for the project can be used to pay down the principal.