12 firms bid to build school performing arts complex

Officials have received 12 bids to design a new k-12 performing arts complex on school property in north-central DeKalb County — a project that remains at most in a conceptual stage since the county has no money or plans in its current construction program to build it.

Officials sought the bids as a way to find out what the complex could look like. Current estimates place construction costs at about $87 million. That estimate will rise annually because of inflation.

Having design plans in hand would give the system a way to sell the project to private donors, although funding likely would come from a mix of public and private sources. There is no timetable to decide whether to commission the plans or move any further along with the idea.

The property earlier this year was sought by developer Sembler Co. It is home to an athletic stadium plus aging facilities including the system’s International Student Center for immigrant and refugee students and the DeKalb School of the Arts, an existing magnet arts high school.

A study completed over the summer said a new arts complex could make sense for the school system, both because of the popularity of existing DeKalb arts magnet programs — including an elementary arts school on a different site — and because a new venue could be used by the community and rented out for income.