January 25, 2012
The Kings Mountain Herald | www.kmherald.net
Page 5A
LeGRAND: four gives CCS officials inside look
at future home of ECHS and all its possibilities
FROM Page 1
very wide and (offered) plenty of space to
move about," Melton said.
- Holland and Hamrick Architects finished
the 145,000-square-foot new Shelby Middle
School last year. Although that construction
was large in size, this one, Holland said, was
more grand in design.
The upstairs conference center can ac-
commodate up to 1,500 guests. An elevated
walkway will carry visitors from the parking
lot to the upstairs entrance and also serve as’
a place for outdoor functions. An outdoor
pavilion area about 20 feet deep and 125 feet
long can also host outdoor events in nice
weather.
Inside the entry way to the conference
center, its corridors and main ballroom have
towering ceilings flooded with natural light
from skylight windows.
"Of all the conference centers that we vis-
ited we only saw one that allowed any natu-
CCS hoard member Jerry Hoyle looks into the
LeGrand Center's massive grand ballroom.
ral light into the space," Holland said. "I
know you've all been to conferences where
you've been in the big rooms in the hotels
and you don't know whether it's day or night
or rain or whatever. In this space you get a
sense of that outdoor light in here."
An exhibit hall runs parallel to the con-
“ference areas, separated by another skyfold
partition. Holland said that the option of
opening up the exhibit hall and "pre-function
space" to the main conference rooms is an-
other perk that makes the new center unique.
Seven conference rooms, each divided by
key-controlled partitions, can be opened up
to one large ballroom.
"This room can either be one large space,
seven different spaces or any combination
that you can imagine with these skyfold
walls and all that can be done with the turn of
a key," Melton said.
The LeGrand Center's second floor fea-
_ tures rooms for the county's economic de-
velopment offices, a commercial kitchen, a
green room with its own bath and kitchenette
for those special guests, and a few more con-
ference rooms. '
"The next thing we're going to show you
is probably going to be the most talked about
and so if everybody will come into the bath-
room," Melton said, as the tour group
laughed.
He pointed out that both the men's and
women's restrooms have two doors, one for,
entering and one for exiting. But there will
be another door between the two.
"I guess we've come to the comfort level
where now everybody can freely go between
the men's and women's bathrooms," Melton
joked.
He said that for those events that are at-
tended mostly by men or by women, the door
can be unlocked and the restroom can dou-
ble in size to accommodate the crowd. ;
Nearly two years in the making, the
LeGrand Center has caught the eye and ad-
miration of all three of its owners - CCS,
CCC and Cleveland County.
In 2010, all three boards voted unani-
mously to fund the building, each agreeing
to share a third of the $19 million price tag
for the center.
It can be a challenge constructing a center
that will live up to its calling as a place where
education and a thirst for knowledge meets
economic development and a county's thirst
for growth. It's also a challenge creating
something that satisfies three different own-
ers.
"I'm really excited to think that this can
have an impact on what we're trying to do in
Cleveland County with economic develop-
ment," Holland said.
The county, its school board and commu-
nity college seem excited too.
All about the workforce
"A reliable, high-performance IP network
supports all voice, video and data traffic
photos by EMILY WEAVER/HERALD
Roger Holland, background center, of the architect firm Holland & Hamrick, gives Cleveland
County school hoard officials a tour of the LeGrand Center now under construction on the
campus of Cleveland Community College. CCS board member Philip Glover looks up at what
will be an impressive glass-encased upper entryway.
flowing in the building," according to Cisco
Systems, an electronics, networking and
communications technology company based
out of California, whose products will be
used in the new center.
Early College High School teachers will
have the technological capability of stream-
ing their work on smartboards at the front of -
the classroom to the screens of each student's
computer. The same network will also open
the door to "telepresence", virtual reality
technology that "beams in" guest speakers
(like Skype) from miles away.
"Advanced networking and telepresence
technology will help expose students to the
technology they will encounter in the work-
force," according'to Cisco.
And the workforce here is what it's all
about. With the emergence of new high-tech
jobs in the region and the county looking to
attract more industry, an educated workforce
seems key.
DAVIDSON: falling roof revealed asbestos, old school closed for now
FROM Page 1
Patton Drive, and finance and human re-
sources offices and personnel currently in the
Business Center, the old Central School in
Kings Mountain.
Supt. Dr. Bruce Boyles said plans are to
maintain the Parent Center (2-3 employees)
on the ground floor and Maintenance Divi-
sion II and 22 employees in the current (Cen-
tral School) location. Office and storage
areas for maintenance are located on the
ground floor and metal buildings on the
North end of the campus house carpentry and
storage. . :
School board members at recent work
sessions heard the recommendations from
the administration to put on hold the repairs
of the old Davidson School building in Kings
Mountain.
Yarbro said the alternative school moved
out of the Davidson school facility in 2008.
Last January, the Davidson Alumni Associa-
tion began using the facility for community
endeavors and paid the utility bills for the fa-
cility. This fall, the sprayed-on ceiling broke
loose and began falling and it was deter-
mined that the ceiling contains asbestos, so
the alumni moved out of the building last
November.
Yarbro told the board that an environ-
mental consultant estimated about 3,200
square feet of floor tile containing asbestos
would also have to be removed, explaining
that the carpet contaminated with asbestos
has to be removed-during the ceiling abate-
ment process. Currently the building is un-
usable and repairs are estimated at $130,000.
"The system has no plans at this point for
use of the building," said Yarbro.
Yarbro said that 79,000 square feet of the
old Shelby Middle School facilities will be
used for Central Services and about 68,000
square feet for the Turning Point Academy.
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He said nearly 10,000 square feet of new
construction will connect three buildings and
provide Turning Point with a new entrance
and corridors. A new transition area in Cen-
tral Services connecting the auditorium with
the board conference room will also serye as
a cover for the Communications loading
area. :
Plans are to retain the oil paintings in the
auditorium of the old school. The Sumter
Street parking area will be renovated for both
bus and car drop-off for Turning Point Acad-
emy with space available to park four buses,
one per zone, during the day.
The entry area for a C-STOP and Turning
Point Académy have controlled access.
Homebound students will have a separate en-
trance. Plans are to divide middle school and
high school students-in the classroom build-
ing. The existing cafeteria will be used for
the Turing Point Academy. The gymnasium
will remain intact but lighting will be up-
graded.
Mr. Yarbro illustrated for the school board
where each department will be located in the
Central Services facility. The staff develop-
ment area will include a computer lab for 40
participants in training, breakout and confer-
ence rooms and a large meeting area with re-
tractable walls for subdividing the area. The
Office of School Readiness and Technology
will share a building: The District server
room will be located in this area and
equipped with proper cooling equipment.
Capacity of the new Central Services fa-
cility will be 250-300 people.
"This new building will make us more ef-
ficient and having the alternative students on
the same campus with the district adminis-
tration is a real plus," said Yarbro. "These
kids face challenges and we will all be under
one roof and we can mentor them, it's excit-
ing."
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