[StBernard] Renovation of Maumus Center continues in St. Bernard Parish

[Westley Annis]

Renovation of Maumus Center continues in St. Bernard Parish

Published: Tuesday, May 22, 2012, 2:50 PM     Updated: Tuesday, May 22,
2012, 3:01 PM

 By Kate Mabry, The Times-Picayune 

While progress has been slow, the Maumus Center in Arabi will soon be
receiving a makeover. In accordance with plans by the St. Bernard Parish
School Board, the 1929 Maumus building at Friscoville Avenue and Royal
Street, which was the site for the parish's first high school, will undergo
construction to convert the building into a science center, planetarium and
small-scale museum about Hurricane Katrina.

The planning for the project began in September 2009, but School
Superintendent Doris Voitier said anticipating the completion of the project
will be "hard to do."

"We're thinking by the end of 2013 or beginning of 2014," she said. "We're
still working on the final designs and adding features."

Once construction has commenced, Voitier said the construction could be
completed in 12 to 18 months. In December 2009, Voitier estimated the
project's construction would cost at least $15 million, but as of Monday,
she estimated the cost could be a million higher.

The district had received funds from FEMA, insurance proceeds and Community
Development Block Grant for the project, and within the next few months, the
center will seek bids as well, she said.

The focal point of the center will be a technology-intensive planetarium but
also will include the Katrina museum and an interactive science center,
which Voitier said would be tied to the school system's curriculum. One room
in the center will be dedicated to the Katrina exhibit, which Voitier said
will commemorate the event and reflect on the hurricane's effect on the
school system.

In November 2009, then-Parish Councilman Mike Ginart also introduced the
idea of a similar Katrina museum to the council stating, "It's a seminal
event in our country's history, and we're ground zero. We need to preserve
history -- there are so many photos and first-hand accounts."

While the Maumus Center will be geared toward school groups, it also will be
open to visitors at a fee. The building, which has not been utilized since
Katrina, was a grammar school prior to 1999 and a community and arts center.

Like much of the parish, the Maumus school, which was originally named after
parish businessman Joseph Maumus, received major damage following the levee
failure during Hurricane Katrina.