One of Ashland's iconic buildings has been hit by vandals.

It happened early Sunday morning at the Paramount Arts Center and the Ashland Regional Dance Theatre.

Ashland police estimate the damage to cost $12,000 to $20,000.

The vandals broke a window into the Paramount and managed to get inside and ransack an office. They destroyed planters and damaged cars in the Paramount parking lot.

At the dance studio, attached to the Paramount, the vandals broke another window, broke a fence and leaving behind a mess of splattered paint cans.

The most costly destruction was to the studio's brand new HVAC units.

"My first reaction was just why? This is just very senseless and very destructive ... why just destroy property?" owner and instructor Maria Whaley said.

Whaley, along with several volunteers, have put countless time and money into renovating the studio since moving into the space six years ago.

Carli Robinette, a senior at Boyd County High School, couldn't believe the news when she first heard about it.

"I couldn't understand why somebody would want to destroy a place like this because as Ms. Maria said, this place really helps our community," Robinette said. "We've always given back so to hear that somebody would want to do something like this to us just really broke my heart."

Officials at the Paramount say they've seen an increase in car break-ins the past six months.