Nicholls State rec center contract awarded

Work on the Harold J. Callais Memorial Recreation Center at Nicholls State will get under way before the end of the year, according to university officials.

Lamar Contractors Inc. of Luling submitted the lowest bid n $15.2 million n to build the 63,000-square-foot facility. Student fees will fund both construction and operation of the facility, which will be built near the intersection of Bowie Road and Ardoyne Drive.

“I am very pleased that this long-anticipated project is getting under way,” university president Dr. Stephen T. Hulbert said in a press release. “Our university has always promoted the physical health and well being of its students, so we are quite excited that past, current and future students will be able to make use of a new, comprehensive recreational facility. I count it as one more reason that Nicholls remains the university of choice in the Louisiana Bayou Region.”

Nicholls Facilities Corporation, a 501(c) 3 private, non-profit entity that assists the university with construction projects, is responsible for the facility. The corporation also oversaw construction of the campus’ new housing facilities, the resurfacing of campus streets and parking lots and the Galliano Dining Hall renovation.

University officials said the corporation, formed in 2002, leases land from Nicholls, makes improvements and then leases the project back to the university.