Progress continued to be made during 2022 to make the proposed International Dark Sky Discovery Center in Fountain Hills a reality.

With the new budget for 2022/2023, the State of Arizona contributed another $2.5 million for the IDSDC planned for Fountain Hills.

IDSDC President Joe Bill announced the contribution in July.

“We are appreciative of Representative John Kavanagh’s efforts to help bring the IDSDC to life by getting $2.5 million into this year’s Arizona state budget,” Bill said.

This was the second consecutive fiscal year that funding for the IDSDC was included in the State Budget.

Bill also announced that as of mid-year the project has received more than 150 private donations. This includes two major pledges of $1 million and $250,000. The project has a $25 million budget that is being raised privately. The state funding has been used toward the design and engineering of the facility.

In October the site plan was presented to the Town Council and received unanimous approval. Swaback Architects – Planners are on board as the designer for the center and McCarthy Building is the contractor.

Bill described the components of the proposed facility which is to include a dark sky observatory with a 24-inch telescope, the largest in the Phoenix area, a planetarium, inspiration theater, exhibit hall and emersion zone. A new component has been added with the Einstein Exploration station for the study of the physics of light.

The building site is on Town-owned property along the south side of the Centennial Circle in the Cutillo Civic Plaza downtown. This site will require the relocation of the Community Garden, which is expected to begin early in the new year. The IDSDC is to pay the costs of the garden relocation. The council will need to approve a lease agreement for use of the property before a building permit is issued.

Significantly more fundraising needs to take place before construction on the project can begin. There is no projection at this time as to when they might be able to put a shovel in the ground.