Sowela coming back strong two years after storm
Published 6:44 am Tuesday, October 11, 2022
- Sowela Technical Community College’s Arts & Humanities Building took a beating during Hurricane Laura. (Special to the American Press)
The campus has shown impressive recovery speeds, according to Darlene Hoffpauir, Sowela marketing and communications manager.
“Sowela implemented the fastest rebuild schedule to date with the state of Louisiana thanks to the support of Gov. John Bel Edwards,” she said. “Work almost immediately began on all 13 buildings ranging from moderate roof damage to total loss. Now, two years later, all but one building is back online.”
The campus sustained heavy damage after the hurricanes. The necessary reconstruction was divided into four phases.
The first phase consisted of repairing five buildings that sustained mild to moderate damage. These buildings included the Transportation Technology Building, Phillips 66 Process Technology Building, H.C. Drew Nursing and Allied Health Building, Regional Training Center, Sycamore Student Center and Gerstner Building.
The work for Phase I began on Dec. 2, 2020, and was completed in April 2021.
There were five buildings repaired in Phase II of Sowela’s reconstruction plan: the Charleston, Magnolia, Pelican, Chennault, and Cypress buildings. All five buildings, which experienced extensive damage, were up and running in August 2021.
Phase III included the Arts & Humanities building, which had been deemed a total loss. The repairs for this building were prioritized as the Arts & Humanities building is vital to classroom capacity. Due to the great need for this building, repairs were expedited. The building was reopened for students, faculty and staff at the start of the Spring 2022 semester.
The Calcasieu Building will be the focus of Phase IV. Hoffpauir said the building in its current condition will have to be demolished. “After the engineers assessed this facility, it was determined it would be less expensive to tear down and rebuild it than to undergo repairs,” she said.
Sowela is still awaiting the final approval from FEMA, but it is estimated that the demolition of the current building will begin before the end of 2022. Construction should begin in early 2023 and be completed in 2024.
The building will be updated with new state-of-the-art chemistry and biology labs and HVAC labs, as well as additional classrooms and labs for the Workforce Solutions department. In addition, the renovated Calcasieu Building will include an expanded Information Technology area.
Sowela also plans to open the new Culinary, Gaming and Hospitality Building in January of 2023. This is a project that was in progress when Hurricane Laura made landfall. The building will include state of the art industrial kitchen, gaming labs and simulate resort space.
Repairs have been funded through insurance and state funds at a cost of $45 million.
