Voters will decide project’s fate
The St. Charles Parish School Board unveiled plans Wednesday for a $35 million performing arts center it hopes to build if voters approve a $42 million bond.
The center would be built in Luling next to the $10.5 million community center and $7 million St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office complex on Judge Edward Dufresne Parkway.
The 67,000-square-foot facility will include 1,300 seats, matching the combined capacity of the Hahnville and Destrehan high school auditoriums.
“We really want to focus on community talent—local talent—in that facility,” Superintendent Felecia Gomez-Walker said.
The performing arts center would also include two stories of classroom space to accommodate art and theater instruction. John Rome, executive director of physical plant services for the school district, said there would be a prop construction and storage area for building sets on-site.
All of this would support both school-level instruction as well as community theater efforts.
“Especially in this corridor where the film industry is just bursting, we feel like we’d have lots of opportunities for additional educational opportunities, but also performance opportunities as well,” Gomez-Walker said.
Gomez-Walker emphasized that the bond would come with no tax increase. This would be accomplished by extending current bonds three years out, to 2035, as well as capitalizing on low interest rates, according to Jim Melohn, finance director for the school district.
In addition to the center, the School Board would use other funds from the bond to renovate two schools and upgrade security systems throughout the district. Renovations on Lakewood Elementary and Albert Cammon Middle School would convert their 70s-style “open” floor plans into traditional classrooms. The renovations are estimated to cost $2.3 and $1.7 million, respectively.
Security improvements include perimeter fencing and upgrades to security cameras. According to Rome, the upgrades would allow the security officers to view footage from any web platform, as well as share camera access with the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office in special situations.
If voters approve the bond, construction of the performing arts center would be scheduled for completion in spring 2018. Security upgrades would begin as soon as this summer. The bond issue will come before parish voters on May 2.
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