$10M Kettering Fairmont auditorium construction nears start

The rebuilding of Kettering Fairmont High School’s auditorium will begin this week, starting with asbestos abatement, according to Ken Lackey, director of business for Kettering City Schools.

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Demolition is expected to begin in mid-July, paving the way to transform the school’s

out-of-date auditorium into a “state of the art” $10 million facility, Lackey said.

Renderings of the project show the school’s new auditorium being expanded, to accommodate more seating space and a larger stage. The expanded building will extend closer to Shroyer Road and will include a higher ceiling for “fly space” which community relations manager Kari Basson said was a “huge deal” for the theater program.

Added fly space allows the scenery to be shifted up and down during a performance.

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“What you have now is kids — or adult volunteer adults — wheeling stuff in and out for performances,” Basson said. “They said if we can’t have more fly space, just forget the whole project.”

Renderings also show the location of the stage being rotate 90 degrees clockwise from facing north to facing east. Lackey said the change allowed for 150 additional seats and a larger stage to accommodate several hundred performers at once.

The additional seating will cause the exterior of the building to extend closer Shroyer Road. Lackey said the building’s larger facade will provide a more “attractive” front as residents walk and drive by.

The existing auditorium is about 11,200-square-feet, including the lobby. The new auditorium will be 19,200-square-feet. The size of the stage will increase to 4,800-square-feet, up from 3,000.

Demolition of the auditorium will begin mid-July according to Lackey with completion projected around October 2018.

While the new auditorium is being built, students in the performing arts at Fairmont will use other schools in the district. Their performances will be held at Kettering Middle School, which has an auditorium and stage roughly the same size as Fairmont’s current space, and at Van Buren Elementary for smaller performances, Lackey said

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By the numbers: difference in size for Kettering Fairmont’s auditorium project

Existing auditorium, including lobby, auditorium and stage: 11,200 square feet

New auditorium, including lobby, auditorium and stage): 19,200 square feet

Existing stage: 3,000 square feet

New stage: 4,800 square feet

Height of existing stage: 30 feet

Height of new stage: 50 feet

Total new construction, including auditorium, lobby, stage, restrooms, dressing rooms, circulation and lower level storage: 29,200 square feet

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