Things are changing along S. Barstow St. near the Eau Claire River – the location for the proposed Confluence Project. The last business to be located in what's now a big gap was Obsession Chocolates. (Photo taken Aug. 14)

The road toward building the Confluence performing arts center has been a long one, and it will soon take a new twist: UW-Eau Claire won’t be seeking its share of the public-private arts center’s cost through the UW System budget. Instead, state funding will be pursued through a separate mechanism called a “non-state grant.” What’s that, exactly? Such grants typically are used for projects that benefit the public but that are outside state agencies, in the past, that’s included a Medical College of Wisconsin project and a Green Bay convention center. At their meeting in Oshkosh Thursday, Aug. 21, the UW System Board of Regents is expected to pass a resolution authorizing System President Ray Cross to work with the state Department of Administration to get the funding in the state’s 2015-17 budget. Originally, UWEC had planned to seek $25 million directly from the UW System. The new request will still go through the typical state budget process – including passing muster at the state building commission, the governor’s office, and the state Legislature – but the funds will come in the form of a grant to the downtown performing arts building’s owner, which would be a yet-to-be-created private entity, not the state or UWEC. The change in funding was first suggested in June by Gov. Scott Walker, who supports the project. As previously planned, private donations and local governments will pay the remainder of the performing arts center’s price tag.