Henry County school board approves land buy for PAC

A new performing arts center is coming to the Fairview area, thanks to the Henry County Board of Education. The board recently approved the purchase of 16.93 acres along Fairview, Thurman and Rex roads from five property owners at a cost of $1.057 million, which is just above the combined appraised value of the land at $1.013 million. The facility will sit adjacent to Fairview Elementary School.

The estimated cost of the entire project, including land and the building, is about $15 million. All of that money will come from the current E-SPLOST approved by voters a couple of years ago. The new PAC was on the project list approved in advance of the E-SPLOST referendum. A hard completion date has not been announced, but officials hope to have the facility open for use during the 2019-2020 school year.

The current performing arts center, built by the school system two decades ago, sits adjacent to Henry County High School. It will be renovated after the new facility is completed to enhance some of its features and expands its seating capacity from just over 700 to about 1,000. That will match the capacity of the Fairview center.