LUMBERTON – Public Schools members of the Robeson County Board of Education took an early tour of the concept and design of the proposed Robeson Career and Technology Education Center, Planetarium and Science Center during their regular monthly meeting Tuesday night.
Schools Superintendent Freddie Williamson informed board members that he has received a letter of intent to begin construction work on the Robson Career and Technical Education Center, Planetarium and Science Center.
“This is a notice that we will move forward with the goal of completion on June 1, 2025,” Willi Ramsson said, to thunderous applause.
Williams said the project will be completed in two phases.
The initial cost is estimated at $60 million, school spokeswoman Jessica Seeley said. The cost of the second phase is estimated at $20 million.
“We continue to explore financing options for the second phase,” Seeley said.
The center will house programs such as culinary arts and automotive technology.
The building will also be the site of the new Robson Planetarium and Science Center. The planetarium and science center, located next to the former public school main building on Caton Street, was destroyed by flooding from Hurricane Matthew in 2016. The building was rendered unusable and the projector that illuminated the night sky was damaged. dome-shaped ceiling.
Therefore, a new facility was needed.
As a result, the Robeson County School Board will receive $5 million from the state budget to fund its construction.
Seeley said the funding is $50 million from the needs-based public school capital fund and $5 million from the state budget. The Robeson County Commission is contributing his $2.5 million to the effort, and he expects an additional $2.5 million to come from the district’s capital reserve fund.
Thanks to the County Board of Education, a portable planetarium with an inflatable dome and projector was built and is now located in the old cafeteria at Janie C. Hargrave School.
“This is the first new building (like a school facility) we’ve built in this district in over 40 years,” said Bobby Locklear, assistant superintendent of Robeson County Public Schools Auxiliary Services. Ta. “This will be our first completely ground-up project. We want this to be a state-of-the-art building that everyone from across the state can come see.
“Part of the project is to have a design team come in and completely design what the inside of that building is going to look like,” Locklear said. “This building is better than any other building in the state.”
The idea calls for the new center to become a product for school districts across the region, not just Robeson County. Superintendents in surrounding areas have expressed support for the facility.
Michael Holborn, project manager at sfL+a Architects, explained the new building’s eye-catching features, variety of colors, and semantics through a presentation from the design team.
“As a refresher, we met and came up with different color schemes,” he said.
With the Board of Directors in the audience, Mr. Holborn presented a detailed report on the design team’s concept for the new CTEC (Robson Career and Technology Education Center).
“We’re working with a company called Loaded for Bear out of Memphis, Tennessee. They’re a great environmental company that’s going to help us really put together what this building is. They’re going to help us with some of the interior design. I did.”
“It’s not just the materials, the building, the space. … It’s all tied together,” he said of the structure. “It’s all about connecting all of this with architecture, interior design, and graphics. It’s a cohesive design.”
“It looks good,” Chairman Randy Lawson said.
“We look forward to seeing the final project completed,” added board member Henry Brewer.
