Add as a preferred source on Google

Louisiana District Prepares for Three Facilities for Rebuilds

  • By Matt Jones
  • 02/14/22

The Lafayette Parish School System in Lafayette, La., announced this week that it has selected construction companies for three rebuilding projects within its district. According to local news, J.B. Mouton LLC has been named the construction manager at risk for renovations to Carencro Heights Elementary and Prairie Elementary. The Lemo1ne Company has been selected as the construction manager at risk for the Truman Early Education Center. The two firms were named after a unanimous vote at a school board meeting last week.

The Truman Early Education Center will move from its current location to a new, 10.5-acre property whose purchase the district approved in December 2021 for $2.3 million. Funding for the project is coming from $26.5 million in ESSER III funds; local news reports that the project qualifies because it will meet COVID-19 health and safety standards in a way that the current campus cannot.

“It has been somewhat of a rose bush in the forest,” said board member Elroy Broussard. “It’s hidden. Nobody knows it’s there. Unless you’re going there, you don’t know it’s there. When parents are looking for someplace to send their kid, they thing about every other school—but they don’t think about Truman.”

Broussard said he hopes the increased visibility at the school’s new location will help boost enrollment and increase community awareness of the facility.

Carencro Heights and Prairie Elementaries, meanwhile, have been tagged for replacement since the district’s 2010 facilities master plan. Carencro Heights’ rebuild will occur at its current site and on a 10.5-acre property next door that the school board bought in 2018. Prairie will also move to a new location, a 22-acre property also purchased in 2018. Both the Carencro Heights and Prairie rebuilds are estimated to cost about $22 million each, according to the school board’s agenda from last week’s meeting.

The architects for each of the three projects have also been announced. Grace Hebert Curtis and DLR Group will work on Truman, Barras Architects on Carencro and Poché Prouet Associates will work on Prairie.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Geometric abstract school illustration

    How Design Shapes Learning and Success

    Can the color of a wall, the curve of a chair, or the hum of fluorescent lights really affect how a student learns? More schools are beginning to think so.

  • LSU Breaks Ground on $200M Residential Project

    Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La., recently broke ground on a new residential complex, according to university news. The South Quad residential project will consist of two buildings and add a total of 1,266 beds for freshmen students. The development comes with a price tag of $200 million, and it’s scheduled to open to students in fall 2027.

  • Photo credit: Elkus Manfredi Architects

    University of Virginia Selects Design-Build Team for New Residential Complex

    The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., recently announced that it has selected a design-build team for a new upper-class residential development on campus, according to a news release. Capstone Development Partners—in partnership with Elkus Manfredi Architects and the Hoar Construction/Hourigan construction team—will move forward with the three-building, 310,000-square-foot housing facility.

  • iPark 87

    Building a Future-Focused Career and Technical Education Center

    A district superintendent shares his team's journey to aligning student passions with workforce demands, and why their new CTE center could be a model for districts nationwide.

Digital Edition