$1.2 Million Renovation is Ongoing at Hockaday

When a friend told me about a rezoning-type sign she spotted recently at Hockaday, I called up the school’s trusty communications director, Andi Pickle.

Here’s what Pickle had for me in an email, after explaining that the sign serves as notice of a planned-development authorization from the city:

Currently, we are refreshing our Liza Lee Academic Research Center (LLARC), adding 2,400 extra square feet inside the existing structure. A $1.2 million renovation began after Memorial Day and will transform the facility into the information hub of campus. The renovation will enhance the studies of debate, journalism, photography, and film in an ever advancing world of digital media. The transformation will provide computer-based classrooms, a newsroom experience, digital photography tools, and film screening facilities.

The second and third floor mezzanine of the LLARC will be repurposed to become the core for debate, journalism, photography, and film — all infusing life into the nearby libraries and sharing media resources. New course offerings will be made possible by creating a space for film production, lighting, and critique.

Another thing: the $2.5 challenge grant Hockaday recently received for dorm improvements is a big sum, yes — but that project won’t change the school’s actual footprint, says Pickle, so (in case you were wondering, as I was), it won’t have the red tape and signage as the LLARC endeavor.