Norfolk Collegiate launches arts center project

By Steven G. Vegh
The Virginian-Pilot
© December 6, 2011

NORFOLK

Hundreds of students massed on Norfolk Collegiate's campus Monday morning, chanting, "Knock it down, knock it down!"

Administrators obliged, unleashing a demolition of an old medical office building to make room for a $8.5 million arts center at the school's Granby Street campus.

The two-story, 26,000-square-foot center will have four classrooms, a chorus room, two seminar rooms, two galleries for exhibiting students' work, a 425-seat theater and a scene design shop.

Headmaster Scott Kennedy said the theater will be available for the community to use for events such as civic league meetings after its completion in March 2013.

"We believe we've been on the forefront of the renaissance of Wards Corner - hopefully, we're on the cutting edge," he said.

In a news release, Mayor Paul Fraim also said the project will continue to help revitalize the community, known formerly as a center of shopping and dining.

Daniel Blue, a ninth-grader and band member, said at the demolition that he can hardly wait for the center's spacious practice area. "We need more room and equipment, and it'll be a great thing to have it here," he said.

The school, which has another campus on Tidewater Drive for lower grades, has 700 students in total. Sixty percent are from Norfolk, and 30 percent from Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, Kennedy said. The rest come from Portsmouth, Suffolk and North Carolina. "We're truly a regional school," he said.

Kennedy said a five-year capital campaign raised money for the addition. Hollywood director and school graduate Gary Fleder, whose projects include the movies "The Express," "Runaway Jury," and "Kiss the Girls," provided initial funding for programming and filmmaking equipment, according to the school.

"I think this is exactly what our community needs," said Kim Tamburino, whose daughter, Olivia, is a first-grader at the school. "It's showing a true long-term commitment by Norfolk Collegiate."

Steven G. Vegh, (757) 446-2417, steven.vegh@pilotonline.com

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