School Board Gets First Look at Future Roper Mountain Science Center

The Board of Trustees for Greenville County Schools got their first look at what the Roper Mountain Science Center could one day become.

School board members Lisa Wells and Chuck Saylors presented the plans, which are still in the conceptual stages, as part of the Roper Mountain Science Center Association Board's report to the district. No formal approval has been granted.

Wells said that the 27-year-old facility, which houses facilities to teach life, earth, and physical sciences, is in bad need of modernization.

"It was cutting edge when it was built," Wells told board members. "The facilities now are not keeping up with the instruction at the center. We want to bring it into the 21st Century and be able to have the tools, the technology and the space to move further with education."

The science center is operated through a collaboration of public and private funds, with the school district conducting maintenance on the building, while the center's board handles the fundraising, grant-writing and partnerships to support the programs offered at the center.

Saylors said the proposed conceptual drawings, which were presented as a gift-in-kind by the architect, need to be scaled back, but that they give a good idea of the vision the the science center's board has for the space.

It is estimated it would cost $30 million to build the four-structure center, Saylors said, but that money could be raised over time.

Saylors said talks with congressional members about the project have already begun and that the science center board will meet with city and county officials at lunch on Thursday to talk more about the proposed idea. He also told the board that several companies already associated with the Science Center are already interested in getting involved in facilities that would be "one-of-a-kind."

"We are meeting one-on-one with decision-makers to show them here's what we are doing and ask where can we go for funding," Saylors said. "We are going to give them the big picture and ask what they would do."

Saylors said the project has the potential to be an economic development tool. He said as business leaders tour the Upstate, the center could be an engagement tool that helps those leaders make the decision to bring new businesses to the area, and thereby, engage families that would come to the area to work.

Saylors said the center's board also has considered the center as a potential revenue generator and could serve as a place where teachers in school districts across the state could come for training and development opportunities.

Demolition of the former Greenville County Recreation Center that was once housed on the property is in the completion stages and that space is where the center's board hopes to build the first of four structures to be housed on the campus.

"This would be the gateway to the community," Saylors said. "It would be a 30,000-square-foot building that you could see from I-385."

Saylors said in the second piece they would take down the existing amphitheater and construct another building to house technology classes. The building would also feature a smaller stage area with retractable roof.

In the current farm area, a building would be constructed for a flexible learning center that would be run completely by solar power and wind energy.

The final building would include a dry heated building with flexible walls that could be opened up for instruction and family usage.

Lynda Leventis-Wells said she is excited about the project and that she seems many opportunities for grants, company partnerships/sponsorships.

"Seeing the vision, the legacy and it's on prime property in Greenville is exciting," Leventis-Wells said. "There are many who would jump on board."

Wells and Saylors said they hope to role out a capital campaign in early 2013.

More on Tuesday's school board meeting to come. So stayed tuned to Patch!