With a desire to expand their program to include Pre-K through High School, Young Audiences Charter School (YACS) purchased the site of a former Coca Cola bottling plant in Gretna to accommodate their new campus, retaining Landis as the general contractor. Construction on the new state-of-the-art educational facility, which represents the only fully arts-integrated public charter school in the Greater New Orleans area, was completed in 2020. The school is situated over an 11-acre area with 177,000 square feet of space, including theater and performance spaces, music studio, modern classrooms, green spaces, sports facilities, and art studio spaces.
The scope of work for this project included selective demolition, site fill and earthwork, new concrete foundations, structural steel, drywall and metal studs, carpentry and stone, roofing and skylights, doors and windows, finishes, specialties, equipment, furnishings, fire suppression, plumbing, HVAC and electrical to accommodate classrooms and support facilities for Grades 5 – 12. It also involved additional classrooms for art, science, performing arts, digital media, and flex spaces, as well as a gymnasium and cafeteria multi-purpose space, administrative areas and offices, and the decorative screened outdoor waiting/playing space
