After months of anticipation and excitement, a new, state-of-the-art building will be home to the Truman Early Childhood Education Center on the corner of Willow Street and University Avenue.
According to Project Manager Jaron Young, the new school is designed to maximize learning opportunities for preschool students and decrease the amount of time they spend traveling in the building.
"The idea of this school was what we're calling a distributed dining concept and basically we'll be bringing food to the kids to cut down on the kids' travel time and going back and forth to cafeterias," Young said.
Young said the nearly $30-million-dollar construction will hold roughly 600 students, incorporate a nature theme in every class, and have lots of natural lighting.
Residents like Latroy Nickerson said he's pleased to see the once vacant space is now being occupied, but he's concerned about the traffic.
"I think it's going to be a real busy area once the school is finished," Nickerson said. "It's a lot of traffic from 11 in the morning to three or four in the evening because people are trying to get to Ambassador Caffrey from Willow Street and University Avenue.
Amanda Blanco, Public Information for Lafayette Parish Schools said students and staff are expected to use the new building in December, after the Winter break.
