A new arts and cultural facility is planned for Historic Downtown Lawrenceville, and Lawrenceville city officials and design firm Stevens & Wilkinson unveiled the design plans at their May meeting.
The $26 million facility will cover 50,000 square feet and include a 525 seat mainstage theater, Cabaret theater, education space for classes and practice spaces. The facility will also connect to the existing Aurora Theater.
When constructed, the mainstage will host the largest live performing arts stage in the state of Georgia.
“This exciting project continues the dynamic transformation of the Downtown area,” said Mayor Judy Jordan Johnson. “Lawrenceville is the heart of Gwinnett and maintains a central area rich with activity for all generations. This facility will bring the Arts community together with educational opportunities and all the other amenities that our vibrant community has to offer to create a dynamic core for Gwinnett County.”
The facility will be constructed on the block surrounded by Pike, Clayton and Crogran Streets and the entrance will open on to Clayton Street. Though the facility is expected to transform the landscape of Downtown, City and County officials are dedicated to retaining the historically intrinsic nature of downtown Lawrenceville’s architecture and infrastructure and blending it with a progressive community engagement center.
The Aurora contracts with the City to manage, operate and craft programming for both its current venue and the future facility being proposed. Anthony Rodriguez, Co-Founder and Producing Artistic Director of Aurora Theater, said, “Ann-Carol Pence (Co-Founder and Associate Producer) and I believe that cultural arts build a bridge to greater understanding. Every arts organization can boast that their shared vision is supported by their staff, artists, board, volunteers, sponsors, and donors. We are no different. What is revolutionary is that the City of Lawrenceville has provided cultural infrastructure that not only supports this vision, but builds it from the ground up. This is transformative. These partnerships unite our community; they break down cultural and racial barriers. Lawrenceville took a powerful chance on us 12 years ago. For that, we are very grateful. To be on the brink of a campus expansion is beyond what we dreamed. We are thrilled to play the role of a lifetime in the future of our community alongside the City of Lawrenceville and Gwinnett County.”
The construction management Request for Proposals has been issued for the project and the City is working with its partners on the selection of the contractor in the next 60 days. The facility is expected to be under construction at the beginning of 2019 and completed by mid-2020.
