Open House Slated For Proposed Lawrenceville Arts Center

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA — The City of Lawrenceville is considering final designs for an additional
transformative project in downtown. City leaders hope the results of this project, when complete, will have the ability to move Lawrenceville Forward and fulfill strategic components to the community vision for being a vibrant arts and education hub. It will further support Gwinnett’s region-wide efforts to retain a young and talented workforce for the jobs and opportunities available in our own community.

The project, known as the Lawrenceville Performing Arts Center, or LPAC, will build upon Aurora Theatre’s success as one of the top professional theatres in the state by combining our Education and Arts assets to strengthen the economic vitality of the City’s core. Exploding student demand for Georgia Gwinnett College’s fine arts program has caused its President to seek LPAC lease approval from the Georgia Board of Regents. Such approval would provide hundreds of students and faculty daily access to a modern professional theatre and educational experience in the
City’s downtown, promoting economic development and supporting college degree completion.

To give residents a transparent view of the design progress, the City will host an Open House Dec. 18, from 4-7 p.m., on the 4th Floor of City Hall to finalize plans. Resident input is critical as the City wants to make sure efforts to realize the community’s vision are met with a true final product that fits into the fabric of our City.

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The Open House will offer citizens and businesses the opportunity to review and provide input into the revised designs, so that general consensus on the size, orientation – facing Pike Street or Clayton Street - and design, both modern or more traditional, of the project can be achieved.

Furthermore, the City has been diligently working to finalize the budget and financial scope of the project. The details of the $31M budget will be unveiled at the open house. To clarify, it is important to keep in mind that more than 50 percent of the funding of this project will come from partners and stakeholders, which will serve to maximize the local and regional economic impact of the project.

This project should serve the needs of the stakeholders while duly having the support of the residents, which is why your input on the final design and thoughts on funding is essential. Critical dates are:

OPEN HOUSE - Dec. 18, 4-7 p.m. – 4th Floor Lobby at City Hall
WORK SESSION - Dec. 19, 5 p.m. – Council Chambers at City Hall
COUNCIL MEETING - Jan. 7, 7 p.m. – Council Chambers at City Hall

City Hall photo courtesy City of Lawrenceville