Three weeks ago, we met up with Civilian Art Projects‘ Jayme McLellan to see their progress as they made the move from their previous space above Apartment Zero in Gallery Place to their new 7th Street location in the old Warehouse Arts Complex. At that time, the road ahead of them seemed long, with the walls still peeling and piles of work ahead of them before their grand opening in the new space tomorrow from 7 to 9 p.m.

We stopped by again this week for a second glimpse, and were greeted with freshly painted white walls, renovated floors, a complete de-clutter, and Terri Weifenbach’s beautiful Woods hanging in the front room. At the opening on Friday, the back room will be filled with sculptures by Carole Wagner Greenwood for an exhibit titled A Little Give and Take. Their next door neighbor, bar and lounge The Passenger, is, according to Paul Ruppert, slated to open by Thursday of next week, and will provide visitors with a great post-art cocktail option.

Civilian’s gallery space will be on the first floor until the summer of 2010, when they will move the gallery to the second floor and open a group of art studios on the third floor, which will be fully equipped with a kitchen and bathroom. They will share the second floor with an architecture firm, and McLellan hopes that the building owners will rent the first floor to an organization with ties to the arts. Born in December 2006 at this same Warehouse space, Civilian has always had ties to the building and neighborhood. McLellan claims it feels like a homecoming, and that the renovated space is closer to her original vision for the gallery than their previous digs in Gallery Place. Civilian will be housed in the 7th Street space for at least three years, and since their lease also provides two one year options, you can expect the gallery to be a mainstay in the neighborhood.