The small cinderblock building that once served as the Greyhound Bus station in downtown Orange was quickly reduced to rubble Wednesday afternoon. Lamar State College-Orange President Dr. Michael Shahan said the college cleared the corner site near the post office to make more room for parking.
The bus station building at the corner of Fourth Street and Elm Avenue was more recently used as an insurance office by the late Ben Culpepper. Buses have not run out of the station for about 25 years.
Shahan said the college’s Industrial Technology Department is in the metal building on the lot. The school is now considering adding on to that building because of the recent flooding downtown, he said.
The Sabine River Flood two weeks ago sent up to six inches of water into several of the campus buildings. Shahan said the initial estimate is $1.2 million to $1.3 million for the flood damage. None of the buildings on the south side of Green Avenue flooded, he said.
LSC-O has plans to construct a new building between First and Second streets on lots north of the Allied Health Building. Shahan said the design is being revised to raise the base of the building to 11 feet above sea level, the same as the Allied Health Building, which did not flood.
The building on the north side of Green Avenue at Fourth Street, where the office of U.S. Representative Brian Babin is, has an elevation of 6.4 feet, he said.
The Sabine River reached 7.6 feet above sea level during the flood two weeks ago.
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