LUMBERTON – The members of the Public Schools of Robeson County Board of Education were given an early look at the concept and design of the planned Robeson Career and Technology Education Center, Planetarium and Science Center during their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday evening.
Freddie Williamson, the superintendent of the school system, informed board members that a notice to proceed letter has been received to start the construction work on the Robeson Career and Technical Education Center, Planetarium and Science Center.
“It is a notice to proceed with a completion date of June 1, 2025,” Willilamson said to a hearty round of applause.
Williams said the project will be completed in two phases.
The initial phase is estimated at costing $60 million, schools spokeswoman Jessica Sealey said. The second phase is estimated at $20 million.
“We will continue to seek options for funding for phase two,” Sealey said.
The center will house programs like culinary arts and automotive technology.
The building will also be the site of the new Robeson Planetarium and Science Center. The planetarium and science center, which was next to the former public school’s central office on Caton Road, was destroyed by floodwaters caused by Hurricane Matthew in 2016. It rendered the building unusable and destroyed the projector, which displays the night sky in light on a domed ceiling.
That brought on the need for a new facility.
And that put the Robeson County Board of Education in line to receive $5 million from the state budget to fund its construction.
According to Sealey, funding has been allocated from $50 million in the Needs-Based Public-School Capital Fund and $5 million from the state budget. The Robeson County Board of Commissioners has contributed $2.5 million to the effort, and $2.5 million more will come from the school district’s Capital Reserve Fund.
Thanks to the county school board, a portable planetarium was constructed with an inflatable dome and projector and is currently housed in the old cafeteria at Janie C. Hargrave School.
“This is the first new building (like a school facility) we have built in over 40 years for this district,” said Bobby Locklear, the assistant superintendent of Auxiliary Services at Public Schools of Robeson County. “This is going to be our first complete from-the-ground-up project. We want this to be a state-of-the art building for everyone across the state to come and look at.
“Part of the project is to have a design team come in and completely design the inside of what that building is going to look like,” Locklear said. “This building is a step above other buildings across the state.”
The idea calls for the new center to be a commodity for school districts throughout the region, not just in Robeson County. Superintendents within the surrounding region have expressed their support for the facility.
Michael Holborn, a project manager with sfL+a Architects, walked through a presentation from his design team, going over the eye-catching features, different colors and semantics for the new building.
“As a refresher,” he said, “we met and came up with different color schemes.”
With the board as his audience, Holborn gave an elaborate report on the design team’s concept for the new CTEC – Robeson Career and Technology Education Center.
“We’re working with a firm out of Memphis, Tennessee called Loaded for Bear. They’re a great environment firm for helping us really bring together what the identity of this building really is. Helping us work through some of the interior design.”
“It’s not just about materials and buildings and space. … Everything comes together and ties together,” he said of the structure. “Tying all this together to where it’s the architecture, the interior designs, the graphics, it’s everything. It’s one cohesive design.”
Chairman Randy Lawson said, “It looks good.”
“I’m excited about the final project when it’s completed,” board member Henry Brewer added.
