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Columbia County previews voter-funded support facility to expand Performing Arts Center storage and event space
Summary
County officials previewed a roughly 17,000-square-foot support facility for the Performing Arts Center, saying it will provide storage for touring shows, add event rental space and improve backstage logistics; construction is underway after a low-bid award and is expected to open in the fall.
Columbia County officials on a county-produced video series described plans for a new Performing Arts Center support facility they say will solve storage bottlenecks for touring shows and add rentable event space.
"We built the PAC a few years ago," said Steven Prather, of Facility Services, describing an increase in shows that bring lights, sound and props that require significant storage. "A lot of these shows bring all of their own equipment... This allows us to do that in house." Prather said the support building grew from those storage and event-space needs and that county staff began design work after a voter-approved sales tax referenced in the video.
County staff said the one-story-plus structure will be about 17,000 square feet. Prather said the first floor will include the primary storage area with a direct corridor into the existing PAC, and a pre-function space and bar with an outdoor terrace. A grand stair will lead to an upstairs event center that staff said can hold about 350 people and be subdivided into three smaller meeting spaces. The facility will also include a commercial kitchen on the first floor and a serving kitchen upstairs to support large catered events.
Prather described operational benefits for visiting productions and local events: in-house storage should reduce the need for tractor-trailers to stage equipment outside the PAC and make it easier to host touring shows. "So, that may or may not influence other shows to come if we have our own items here," he said.
On procurement, Prather said the county advertised drawings and specifications under its procurement rules, accepted bids and awarded the project to the lowest responsive bidder. He said foundations have been dug and poured and that steel erection will begin soon. "Were hoping for an October 26, November 26 opening," he said in the video; county staff did not provide a single finalized opening date in the segment.
Prather said the facility will be available to rent by the public for weddings, conferences and other events, similar to the countys Savannah Rapids Pavilion. The county did not provide detailed budget line items or a final opening date in the video segment.
County spokespeople said they plan to return with further construction updates as the project advances.
