The new Lawrence Arts Center is a wonderful addition to the community.

What is it they say about luck? It’s a matter of preparation meeting opportunity?

That’s pretty much the story of the Lawrence Arts Center.

After years of planning and preparation, progress toward a new arts center building had hit a stalemate. Neighbors and some historic preservationists opposed plans to expand the former Carnegie Library building that had been the arts center’s home for more than 25 years.

Arts center officials had wanted to keep the facility in the downtown area, but, discouraged that no suitable downtown properties or sites were available, they began to look at other locations, including one just west of the Lawrence Hallmark plant. Plans were floated, but nothing was taking hold.

Then all the preparation suddenly met an opportunity and produced a major piece of good luck for the arts center. Two blocks from the center, in the 900 block of New Hampshire, developers were working on a project called Downtown 2000. The city contributed to a new parking garage to serve the project, which is envisioned to include a mix of retail, office and residential uses. What if, someone mused, the arts center could be part of that development?

It was an opportunity that quickly became a reality. City approval was swift, and construction soon was under way. The Lawrence Arts Center was host to its first major event at its new home Saturday night and will open to the public on Monday.

The new building clearly is a dream come true for Arts Center Director Ann Evans and others who spearheaded planning and fund raising for the project. The 40,000-square-foot structure will house galleries, studios, preschool classrooms and a 300-seat theater.

Everyone who has worked at the arts center seems to have a special fondness for the Carnegie Library building, but the opportunities presented by the new facility are irresistible. It is a building designed and built to meet the arts center’s needs for many years, and it’s easy to envision it being a center of activity that will add new vitality to the downtown as well as the entire community.

It seems there’s also a saying about “it’s better to be lucky than smart.” Those involved with the planning and construction of the new Lawrence Arts Center certainly were smart, and Lawrence certainly is lucky to have this beautiful new facility to promote a variety of arts opportunities for our community.