Adding modern touches but keeping the 1940s Art Deco look is the goal for the interior of the Bell Auditorium.
Representatives from Perkins+Will, the design and architectural firm assisting with plans to build a new James Brown Arena, brought designs and materials to the Coliseum Authority’s Sept. 27 meeting.
Renovations to the Bell were originally part of the overall plan to build a new James Brown Arena and create an entertainment complex in Augusta.
When Richmond County voters rejected the Nov. 2, 2021, bond referendum to pay for the project, the plan stalled.
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H.B. Brantley, project executive consultant and owner’s representative, at the June 28 meeting recommended authority members move forward with the Bell renovations as a separate project. Members voted unanimously to do so.
“So, now we got a very Bell focus design team effort going on where, you know, how can the Bell be a standalone? How can it be part of a complement to a bigger complex? So, we’ve advanced the interior design,” said Mike Harvey of Perkins+Will.
Harvey said the goal for the interior is not to make it look like a modern art museum, but rather a more modern version of itself in the 1940s and 1950s.
“We didn’t want to do anything that looked foreign to the Bell and we don’t want to make the Bell look foreign to itself once you get inside,” he said. “So, keep its original character, keep its original, you know, a nod to the era that it was born. So, when you’re walking in a 1940s art deco building you still feel like you’re in some modern version of that interpretation.”
He said separating out the Bell project has been something of a blessing in disguise. It puts the focus on the Bell, rather than it being in the shadow of the new arena.
“You know, it’s our backbone here. This is the main arena as far as volume of shows,” said Brad Usry, chairman of the authority’s new JBA subcommittee. “And then what we do here will show the community you know, so we can move forward with the full project.”
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Harvey and designer Miranda Dooley walked authority members through a series of drawings, highlighting some of the recommended upgrades. Those include refreshing the dressing rooms, the green room and renovating existing bathrooms while adding new ones. Harvey said the biggest goals are for community hospitality and entertainment.
Usry said authority members will review the plans and materials the design team proposes. Members can approve the plan as presented but can also make suggestions for revisions or additions.
Brantley said the team anticipates starting construction on the renovations by mid to late April 2023. The project completion date is 2024.
While the project is anticipated to limit how many shows can be scheduled in the Bell, the James Brown Arena will remain open for booking events. That will less the financial impact resulting from the limited use of the Bell Auditorium.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a general assignment reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com
