The Wayne State College Peterson Fine Arts Addition & Renovation project will include a renovation of a portion of the building, in addition to a new band and choral rehearsal wing, and an extended main entry. This project was conceived out of necessity to address the concerns of the National Association of Schools of Music that gives accreditation to music programs across the country. The existing spaces of the building are currently not conducive to instrumental or choral rehearsals. During programming, it was determined that it was not financially rational nor feasible to accommodate a choral or instrumental rehearsal space within the existing building, because it was not possible to provide the required volume of space necessary for the musical ranges the rooms were intended to facilitate. Additionally, the building is riddled with acoustical issues including a lack of speech privacy and noise bleed of instruments from the practice rooms in the lower level to adjacent rooms and sometimes between floors.

Blair School District in collaboration with the design team lead by Jackson – Jackson & Associates, Inc. worked with several community partners including Metro Community College to revision 14,000 square feet of the existing high school building into state-of-the-art Industrial Technology Labs for Welding, Construction, Automotive and Small Engines, Robotics, Drafting, and Art. Staff at Blair High School are currently moving into the renovated spaces. Metro Community College will offer college credits this fall for welding and they are working to develop more college credit opportunities for the students. There has been so much excitement and interest in these expanded programs that they are at full capacity for the 2021-2022 school year with a waiting list.