LEPAA Breaks Ground on The Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences

The Lubbock Entertainment / Performing Arts Association (LEPAA) held a ground breaking ceremony for The Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences on April 20, 2017 at 5 p.m. at the future site of the hall, 1300 Mac Davis Lane. Ballet Lubbock, Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, Lubbock Independent School District and Texas Tech University detailed and demonstrated their partnerships with LEPAA during the ceremony.

“The groundbreaking for Buddy Holly Hall is a truly historic event for Lubbock,” said LEPAA Board Chairman Tim Collins. “Our community has dreamed of a performing arts facility for more than 30 years. This dream is now becoming a reality.”

The Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences is a privately funded venue, successful due to donations from foundations, corporations and individuals.

“We are so grateful to this community for the tremendous support of the hall. Without every single donation from so many people and the leadership of the LEPAA board, this groundbreaking would not be possible,” Collins said.

Lee Lewis Construction, Inc. is the general contractor on the project, and construction is expected to take 33 months to complete after groundbreaking. The final project budget for the Buddy Holly Hall is $155 million in pre-construction and construction costs. To date, LEPAA has raised 60 percent of that goal.

Design architects on the project are Diamond Schmitt Architects, Inc. out of Toronto, and both Parkhill, Smith and Cooper and MWM Architects, Inc. of Lubbock. Garfield Public/Private is the project developer.

When complete, Buddy Holly Hall will be a world-class, one-of-a-kind performing arts campus with 218,000 total square feet, featuring:

• The Helen DeVitt Jones Theater, a 2,200-seat venue with an acoustics rating of NC 15;
• A 425-seat studio theater designed in partnership with the Lubbock Independent School District;
• The grand hall, a 6,000 sq. ft. multipurpose space;
• Ballet Lubbock Pre-Professional Dance School, 22,000 sq. ft. with five dance studios;
• A bistro, concessions and catering in partnership with United Market Street;
• Christine DeVitt Lobby featuring an exquisite spiral staircase; and
• Back stage amenities including to accommodate all performances, both large and smaller scale.