KEY TAKEAWAYS: KID smART opened a $3.6 million arts education headquarters at 2533 Columbus St. in New Orleans. The renovated 10,700-square-foot building will expand programming by more than 250%. The center features visual arts studios, a dance studio, podcasting space and performing arts fac ilities. The project repurposed a historic former St. Rose of Lima parish hall built nearly a century ago.   Project description: A nearly century-old, two-story, 10,700-square-foot building has been transformed into the new headquarters for KID smART, a nonprofit that empowers children and educators through arts-integrated education and programming. The building was the former parish hall for the St. Rose of Lima Church and most recently housed co-working space for several nonprofit organizations. The facility will enable KID smART to expand programming. Location: 2533 Columbus Street, Bayou Road neighborhood, New Orleans Cost: $3.6 million (building purchase and construction) Start date: September 2025 Completion date: February 2026 Architect Interior Designer: EskewDumezRipple General Contractor: Ryan Gootee General Contractors (RGGC) A nearly century-old, 10,700-square-foot building in the Bayou Road neighborhood has been transformed into the new headquarters for New Orleans nonprofit KID smART. The KID smART Center for Arts Education will allow the organization to expand programming that empowers children and educators through arts-integrated learning. Located at 2533 Columbus St., the reimagined two-story building enables KID smART to consolidate administrative offices, training programs, and arts instruction under one roof. The center features newly configured studio classrooms, training spaces, and creative work areas designed to support students, educators, and community members. “The opening of the KID smART Center for Arts Education marks an exciting new chapter for our organization,” said Elise Gallinot Goldman, executive director. “This center allows us to expand our reach by more than 250 percent, creating a permanent home for arts education and ensuring that students, educators and community members have access to creative, high-quality learning experiences.” Goldman said establishing a permanent headquarters represents a major milestone for an organization that over the past 26 years has reached more than 80,000 students and educators. “Having a building is such a meaningful way to permanently impact the arts education landscape in the city,” Goldman said. “This building not only ensures that KID smART has a permanent home but also establishes a true hub for community arts education in the city. We hope that the KID smART Center will be full of programming for people of all ages, led not only by KID smART but also the many amazing partners we have throughout the city.” The center includes multiple visual arts studios, a dance and movement studio with sprung flooring, a podcasting studio, a performing arts space with theatrical lighting and flexible training rooms for workshops and professional development. The building also includes adaptable furniture, a new elevator, and expanded entryways to ensure accessibility for all users. “With space for training and workshops, and six state-of-the-art studio classrooms, we will be able to expand programming exponentially for people of all ages,” Goldman said. “Within the next year we hope to roll out expanded teacher and artist workshops, summer camps, arts classes for adults and much more.” The Bayou Road building was the former parish hall for the St. Rose of Lima Church and most recently housed co-working space for several nonprofit organizations, including KID smART, NewCorp, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative. Today, only KID smART occupies the entire building. KID smART broke ground on the project in September 2025 and celebrated the center’s opening with a ribbon cutting in late February. The project is supported by KID smART’s $5.5 million Creativity at the Center Campaign, launched in 2024 to fund the building purchase, renovation, and long-term programming. The campaign is currently halfway funded. EskewDumezRipple designed the renovation, while Ryan Gootee General Contractors served as the general contractor. The project also includes a large exterior mural created by Eternal Seeds, an organization that empowers young artists to become creative leaders and visionaries. The creative reimagining of the historic building reflects KID smART’s mission and supports creative learning at every scale, said Jill Traylor, principal and director of interior design at EskewDumezRipple. Unique design elements included specialized performance flooring, theatrical lighting, and a bold paint scheme featuring more than 30 different colors. “The design vision centered on creating a strong ‘color story’ throughout the building. Color has a remarkable ability to guide movement, shape experience, and create moments of surprise and delight,” Traylor said. “In this project, color helps define classrooms and studios for visual arts to dance and performing arts while areas of calm neutrality provide a backdrop for KID smART’s artwork to shine.” The EskewDumezRipple design team included Traylor, principal-in-charge; Regina Davis, project manager and project architect; Matt Kymes, construction administration and specifications; and Aidan Taylor, interior design team member. “Our approach honored the existing structure and character of the building while introducing thoughtful updates to support KID smART’s programming,” Davis said. From a construction standpoint, integrating modern systems into a historic structure while preserving the building’s character required careful coordination, said Dustin Ducote, project manager with Ryan Gootee General Contractors. “This project was a collaborative effort between RGGC and architect interior designer EskewDumezRipple, focused on preserving the building’s character,” Ducote said. “Existing wood doors, wood flooring, and wood trim were thoughtfully reused wherever possible, all existing windows were carefully restored, and new elements were carefully implemented to seamlessly match the existing look and feel of the building.” Construction included converting the first floor into office and training spaces and building out the second floor with the classrooms, studios, and performing arts spaces. “The result is a space that not only supports the community and students but also showcases the craftsmanship, thoughtful design, and problem-solving involved in adapting and enhancing an older structure for modern educational and artistic use,” Ducote said. One of the project’s most complex elements involved integrating new mechanical systems while maintaining the building’s existing ceilings. “The biggest challenge on the project was integrating new linear diffusers into an existing wood-framed building with minimal clearances and tight tolerances, while maintaining the appearance of a flat ceiling,” Ducote said. “Most of the existing ceilings remained, and the new linear diffusers spanned the full width of the rooms in many areas. This required careful coordination and close attention to detail to ensure the completely flat diffusers aligned properly within ceilings that were not perfectly level.” Another complex element involved installing an elevator in the historic structure to improve accessibility. “I’m most proud of the elevator installation due to the complexity of incorporating a system like this into a building of this age,” Ducote said. “Through our team’s thorough and detailed planning process, the elevator was successfully installed with minimal issues.” An interactive entry feature wall provides a visual boundary between the entry and training space while displaying student artwork and recognizing donors. “The entry feature wall is a team favorite,” Traylor said. “What could have been a simple partition became a design opportunity, a storytelling element that immediately expresses KID smART’s creative mission while acknowledging the community and philanthropic support that made the project possible.” Traylor added: “The younger students seem to especially love engaging with the spinning wooden blocks, making the feature wall not just functional, but a moment of joy as well.” Design decisions also emphasized flexibility, sustainability, and student well-being. “Flexibility was built into the layout from the start, allowing rooms to shift and adapt as needs evolve. We also prioritized healthy material selections during the specification process, including low-VOC paints and carpet, recycled acoustic panels, and non-toxic insulation,” Davis said. “These decisions help create a safe, supportive environment for students, educators, and staff, reinforcing KID smART’s commitment to nurturing healthy, creative spaces.”   ...read more read less