The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Students, leaders sign beam for PAC
Avon High School performing arts students and leaders put their mark on a center under construction March 25 during a ceremonial beam signing.
The steel beam will be located on the second floor of the Performing Arts Center, 37545 Detroit Road.
It will be accessible for generations of students to come, Avon Local Schools leaders say.
The expanded performing arts center will open in late 2021.
Avon High Principal Kristina Buller said the signing is a way for students to be a part of the history of the school.
“We have an abundance of talent here at Avon High School, in terms of performing arts,” Buller said. “So, it was brought to our
attention, through the construction company and our architects, that they have an ability to add a little bit of posterity into new construction, by allowing students who lived through construction to sign construction beams construction beams and so they made them a little nice.”
Avon Schools Superintendent Mike Laub said he could not contain his excitement, but said March 25 was about the students and the community who will benefit from the performing arts center for years to come.
Avon High chorale students along with the architectural visionaries behind the project were on hand for the occasion, all affixing their signatures on the beam.
The signed beam is expected to be visible for the entire lifespan of the building of around 100 years.
Buller added about 44 percent of the school’s 1,400 students participate in the performing arts.
The expanded seating capacity will provide a huge boost, not only to Avon Schools, but the Avon community as a whole, she said.
Families and friends can enjoy performances without as many seating limitations, Buller said.
The previous arts center had a capacity of 600 people.
The additions will increase seating capacity to 1,600.
Also, the new facility better reflects the growth of the district over the past 20 years, officials said.
In 2019, Avon voters approved a 0.98 mill 10-year bond issue to help finance the project along
with additional funding from district’s permanent improvement funds to supplement the cost of the kitchen and common area renovations at the school.
Dunlop & Johnson Inc. is managing the project, which includes
the 27,790-square-foot primary auditorium addition, a 14,660-square-foot secondary auditorium addition and renovating 4,891 square feet along with constructing a 2,368-square-foot orchestra pit.