The Record Newspapers - Hometown News For Orange County, Texas

The Orange County Economic Development Corporation held a ground breaking ceremony this morning for the Orange County Shelter of Last Resort & Emergency Operations Center, to be located off FM 1442 just one mile south of IH-10.

In May the Orange County Commissioners Court awarded G&G Enterprises the

contract to build a community exposition and event center on 31 acres.

The center will also be used as a county central base during emergency situations.

G&G Enterprises’ total bid for the project was $10,560,000 and is scheduled for completion in 15 months, weather permitting.

The

center will include conference rooms, offices for the county’s road and

bridge and environmental heath departments, an event center equipped

with lighting, sound system and room dividers, parking area, covered

arena for livestock shows, rodeos, concerts, festivals, farmers’ markets

and graduations and lighted athletic fields.

The cost of the

center is $13.2 million, with $10.7 million being provided through

various grants and money available to the county, and the C.H.A.M.P.S.

(Community Hands Assembling a Multi-Purpose Structure) board is looking

to raise the remaining $2.9 million through the private sector.

Federal

funds already approved for the center total $9.86 million, as long as

the construction is completed within a 24-month period, according to

C.H.A.M.P.S. documentation.