BRUSLY — The West Baton Rouge Parish School Board voted Tuesday to buy two tracts of land next to Lukeville Elementary School for $1.75 million, scrapping a more expensive plan to build a new gym and cafeteria on the school's already-cramped campus.

The property at 6157 Hwy 1 South and 3054 Lukeville Lane includes a commercial building most recently occupied by Grand Isle Shipyard and previously home to Sun Electrical and Instrumentation. It sits directly adjacent to the school, on the Brusly side of the Intracoastal Waterway.

The property is owned by Berthelot Investment, L.L.C., according to parish assessor and Secretary of State records. Todd Berthelot, who manages the LLC, and his father, former Parish President Riley "PeeWee" Berthelot Jr., were present at the meeting.

The board had spent the past year designing a new gym and cafeteria to be built on school grounds. That project was expected to cost about $7 million, and it came with problems. The campus is tight on space. The construction would have taken away playground area. And after meeting with the parish, the district learned it would need to install retention ponds because of flooding in the area.

"I believe it would be crazy if we didn't act on this property," Facilities Supervisor Chad Fontenot told the board.

Fontenot said the existing building already has the structural bones for a gym, which means the district can renovate rather than build from the ground up.

The purchase also creates a path to remove the school zone on LA-1. Buses currently back up onto the highway service road during drop-off and pickup, which is what triggers the school zone designation. The district met with DOTD, which told them that if buses are rerouted through Lukeville Lane and kept off the service road, the school zone can come down.

"We would reroute the buses coming into the campus," Fontenot said. "Buses would no longer be on the service road and next to the highway."

Two independent appraisals were done. The seller's came in at $1.6 million. The board's architect ordered a separate appraisal, which came in at $2.375 million. Board attorney Evan Alvarez confirmed the board can accept any price between the two, and the $1.75 million asking price falls within that range.

Superintendent Dr. Chandler Smith said the district plans to tackle the project in phases. Phase one would tear down the back portion of the building and renovate the front into a gym, at an estimated cost of $2 to $3 million. Phase two would add a new cafeteria, but there is no rush to start that work.

"We could do phase one, which is just renovation," Smith said. "And then we could do phase two, which would be the new cafeteria. But we don't have to do it right away, which would give us a little bit of time to add more money to the building fund to pay it as we go. So no new debt."

The current Lukeville cafeteria will stay in use for now, but Smith said the campus is growing and will eventually need the space for additional classrooms and special education.

Supervisor of Business Jared Gibbs said the district has about $2.1 million left in bond funds after paying for the Cohn school project, enough to cover the purchase.

Dockside Market & Seafood, which currently operates on the property, will not remain. Smith said the operators will move out their equipment, and the space could eventually be used for additional parking during parent events.

The board voted 8-0 to approve the purchase in both the facilities and finance committee meetings. Board members Chareeka Grace and Michael Maranto were absent. The board also authorized its president to sign any necessary paperwork once attorneys finalize the deal.

"It's a no-brainer," one board member said during the discussion.