The former Bell School Campus in Treme is being transformed into residential and work space for artists and their families. The project is being led by the nonprofit Artspace. Eileen Fleming met up with Artspace spokesman Joe Butler for a look at the historic property – inside and out.
The Andrew J. Bell School is now behind chain link fencing topped with barbed wire, enclosing the four-acre block. Butler says the building was finished about 1903. It was a working school until Hurricane Katrina forced evacuations. Students never came back. The building has for the past 5 or 6 years been open to the elements.
Along with residential spaces, the school campus will be refurbished to complement the houosing. It includes a music room where many of the stars of present-day brass bands learned to play. And the oldest building on site – the chapel – will be the final building to be restored.
The groundbreaking today will celebrate the start of construction on the residential units. Plans call for 79 affordable units for artists and their families. The first phase is set to be finished early next year. The remaining units are scheduled for completion in the fall of 2017. The final phase will restore the chapel -- the oldest building on the campus – to a space for art shows and performances. The public is invited to groundbreaking, starting at 5 p.m.
