Updated at 8:30 a.m. to correct date of event

POTSDAM -- SUNY Potsdam is holding a grand opening April 25 for the now-complete $55 million Performing Arts Center.

The 97,000-square-foot facility now houses the school's department of theater and dance. It features a 50-seat proscenium theater, a 200-seat black box theater and a 200-seat dance theater and is connected to the Crane School of Music.

In addition to hosting various performances, it offers class space for Potsdam's music and theater students.

"The state-of-the-art facility has also opened new doors for students and faculty to master the latest technology, advance their artistry and reach out to new audiences," reads a news release from SUNY Potsdam. "The center will be one of the best performance venues north of New York City, drawing audiences from across the region and performers from around the globe."

It is the first new academic building on the school's campus in four decades.

Ground was broken in April 2011. Laborers set the final beam about a year later.

The opening ceremony events are free and start at 5:30 p.m. April 25 with a discussion in the proscenium theater. Lorenzo Mattii of Pfeiffer Partners Architects will talk about the building's design.

There will be a reception at 6 p.m. in the grand lobby with live music, art displays, dancing, refreshments and a short ceremony.

At 7:30 p.m., there will be three simultaneous performances. The black box theater will have student-led one-act plays, visiting artists from FuturPointe Dance will be in the dance theater and the Crane Latin Ensemble will perform in the Crane school's Snell Theater.

To see a time-lapse video of the Performing Arts Center construction, click here.