Columbus-based contractors Dunlap & Company will begin a $3.8 million renovation on the Clarence E. Robbins Auditorium at Columbus East High School auditorium in the coming months.
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. school board members approved a $3,819,144 contract with Dunlap on Monday. The board authorized the district to seek bids for the auditorium project in November 2018.
Monies for the multi-million project come from $13 million in general obligation bonds approved by the school corporation in January 2018.
As part of the renovation, the current 900 seats will be replaced with new, wider chairs — about 60 fewer — and the facility will also be made more accessible to individuals with disabilities with ramps at the sides to provide accessible paths to seating positions, side exit doors and the stage.
The corporation is also upgrading the current sound systems and adding listening devices for hearing impaired. New sidewall, rear wall and ceiling treatments will be added to improve the current acoustics. The large sidewalls are currently covered with wall carpeting which is no longer permitted.
Upgrades will also be made to the theater lighting systems and housing and general lighting fixtures to accept LED fixtures. Contractors will also remove the auditorium floor and replace it with a 12% sloped floor in front of the seating area and tiered seating area in the rear with 6-inch steps. The current slope of the floor in both seating areas exceeds the allowable maximum slopes permitted by today’s building codes, according to the district.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
