NEW YORK CITY:  On Tuesday, March 22, the Off-Broadway MCC Theater will break ground on its first permanent home. The new 27,000-square-foot facility will be located on West 52nd Street in Manhattan, and is set to open in 2018.

“We are proud of what we’ve built, but we’ve been missing a home of our own in which this community can grow together and learn from one another—all under the same roof,” said co-artistic director Robert LuPone in a statement. “We are so thrilled to break ground on a home that will help us do just this, and we look forward to welcoming our artists and audiences here in the years to come.”

Its new $35 million facility will be designed by Andrew Berman Architect. The City of New York has funded $25.5 million to the project, and the campaign has raised a total of $29.9 million to-date.

The new space will feature a 249-seat and a 99-seat theatre. The building will also include spaces for rehearsals, workshops, and public gatherings. Francesco Simeti has also been commissioned to create visual art installations on the exterior and the interior of the building.

The new home will allow the company to increase its season to include six productions; it currently programs four shows a year. The MCC artist development and educational programming—including a reading series and after-school programs—will also expand to include more playwrights and public school students.

“At the core of MCC’s mission is our commitment to using theatre as a means of provoking conversations about this uniquely immediate and dynamic art form, and also about our contemporary daily lives and shared experiences,” said co-artistic director Bernard Telsey in a statement. “We strive to bring our audiences into these dialogues because we believe the theatre-going experience should not be a passive one, but that the energy of a play should continue well beyond curtain call.”

MCC was founded in 1986 and usually performs out of the Lucille Lortel Theatre in the West Village. It presents new plays and world premieres.