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By Kristal Dixon
Cherokee Tribune Staff Writer
Cherokee County School District construction projects are on track to be completed by their projected dates.
The district is building a new middle school and high school in southeast Cherokee, an educational services annex west of Holly Springs and additions at Etowah High and Macedonia and R.M. Moore elementary schools.
"Things are going really well," said Russ Sims, district assistant superintendent of support services, facilities and construction management. "We are looking forward to having them all completed."
At the new Mill Creek Middle School at the corner of Mill Creek and Arnold Mill Roads in southeast Cherokee, the brick and concrete masonry work is 98 percent complete.
Asphalt paving is under way, as is the installation of curb and gutter, overhead electrical, plumbing and heating and ventilation and air-conditioning systems.
Metal roofing is being added, and the painting of concrete masonry in the classroom wings is ongoing.
Construction of the new middle school by Gilbane is budgeted at $32.3 million. The cost, as with the other construction projects, is being funded by SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) revenues.
Mill Creek Middle is designed to hold 1,200 students and is scheduled for occupancy when classes begin next school year.
On the same property, the district is building a new high school, which has not yet been named.
The site for the new middle and high school is 97 acres, according to district construction supervisor Phil Parrott.
The new middle school is 187,070 square feet, while the new high school is 318,857 square feet.
The $55.3 million contract for the high school was awarded to Barton Malow Construction Services. A new two-story, tri-level prototype design is being used.
Concrete masonry construction for the first classroom wing has begun.
Paving is under way, as is the installation of curb and gutter, sod for the practice field and foundations for the football field grandstands and press box.
The new high school will hold between 1,800 and 2,000 students, and is scheduled for occupancy in fall of 2010.
The district's new educational services annex on Keeter Road west of Holly Springs is nearing completion.
The $8 million project includes three buildings: a warehousing annex to store surplus equipment; an educational training center for conducting meetings and training sessions; and an education support and data services to house personnel and district servers.
Headley Construction Corporation was awarded the contract to build the facility.
The interior finishes and electrical installation in the data services building is under way, and mechanical installation is nearly complete.
Application of the interior finishes on the warehouse annex and educational training portion has started, as has the installation of electrical and wall systems in the latter.
The 52,500-square-foot facility is scheduled for occupancy in the winter of 2009.
Construction of Etowah High School's new gym and classroom addition also is on schedule.
Doster Construction Company was selected to build the $11.8 million project.
For the 73,000-square-foot facility, structural steel erection has started as has installation of the second-floor slab for classroom and labs.
The renovation and classroom addition will include 12 instructional units, a weight room, a wrestling area, physical education locker rooms, team locker rooms, office space for school coaches and a horticulture lab that would be used for agriculture and veterinary science classes and family and consumer science classes and lab.
Etowah's cafeteria will also be renovated, with adjacent classroom walls removed to add more space. A greenhouse and a storage building also will be added.
Occupancy for the facility is set for the start of the next school year.
Construction of the addition at Macedonia Elementary for a new gym and classrooms has started.
Site utilities, underground plumbing and footings for the new gym are complete.
Steel erection and masonry work is under way, and all concrete floor slabs should be complete by the end of the week.
The $6.13 million addition is being built by Womack, Smith & Lewis Inc.
The 37,243-square-foot facility is scheduled for occupancy at the start of the next school year.
R.M. Moore Elementary School's classroom addition construction is in its beginning stages.
A temporary construction drive and storm water detention pond work is near completion at the Waleska school.
A storm drainage area in the courtyard has been completed, and a sidewalk in the courtyard has been installed.
Headley has been selected to build the 24,052 square feet addition, Parrott said.
The $3.5 million facility is scheduled for occupancy in fall of 2010.
kdixon@cherokeetribune.com
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