By Saturday, March 9 the ballroom in the Civic Center will reopen to the public. 

“The repair itself is done,” Melvin Cooper, Gainesville Parks and Recreation director said. “We’re finishing it by replacing lights for the ballroom and putting the curtains back up. By the end of the week, everything will be good.” 

Gainesville Parks and Recreation originally closed the ballroom after Ron Arro, the department’s operations manager, discovered a crack in the ceiling on Feb. 8. 

The abnormality was due to a damaged beam in the attic that supports the ceiling. 

The issue was isolated to the ballroom, and had not affected the remainder of the Civic Center’s operations. 

Cooper said Northeast Georgia Consulting Engineers LLC provided the plans for the repair work. Carroll Daniel Construction Company installed two steel reinforcement beams, bringing the ballroom back to a structurally sound state. 

Cooper said the repairs were recently examined by the Gainesville Inspection Services Division, and deemed up to code. 

He said the cost of the repairs wasn’t as much as he anticipated, coming to $23,209. 

The events scheduled for the time during the construction were either postponed or moved to another location. The 19th annual daddy daughter dances, which were originally set for late February, will take place March 26-29.

“People who registered for the daddy daughter dances have been patient and understanding,” Cooper said.