Arts and banquet center under construction

Business Today

FARMINGTON -- Work has begun on the city's $4.4 million performing arts and banquet center, which is being built on the south side of the Farmington Community Civic Center. Brockmiller Construction Co. of Farmington, which built the civic center, is also building the new center.

The facility will be called Centene Center as part of a pact between the city and Centene Corp., which is operated by Michael Neidorff, a long-time supporter of the arts. The auditorium will be named Neidorff Hall.

For the past 60 years, a small auditorium in City Hall has been used to stage plays and other performance-related events.

The Centene Center will cover about 32,000 square feet and house a performing arts area with central stage and a multifaceted banquet area. It is slated to open by April 2003.

The performing arts section will have 500 fixed seats, about 225 movable seats, a permanent stage, and lighting and sound equipment.

The banquet section will be used for receptions, meetings and conferences and can be partitioned into smaller rooms. A sound system, separate from the one used in the performing arts section, will be in the banquet section.

The cost of the project will be covered by a sales tax continuation approved by Farmington voters in 2001 when residents voted to extend an existing 1 1/2-cent sales tax that was to expire in 2004.

In 2000, Neidorff, a St. Louis-area businessman, opened a claims processing department for Centene Corp. in Farmington. The business was expected to have about 50 employees, but currently employs more than 100 workers.

Centene Corp. is a government services and managed care company. It contracts with several state governments, and provides managed care services to people enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program.

Centene was founded in 1984 in Milwaukee, Wis. In 1996, the company hired Neidorff as president and CEO.