Sarah Hawley/photos
While the future gym floor may be wet from the recent rain and snow, a year from now it will be the home to the Southern basketball teams. The new gymnasium will seat approximately 200 additional people and have extra space on the sidelines.
Sarah Hawley/photos
The vapor barrier is being placed on the block way before the bricks can be placed on the outside of the building.
Pictured is a rendering of the future Southern High School.
Sarah Hawley/photos
In mid-September, the walls on the first floor of the new school building were being constructed. This week, the first roof trusses were placed in that portion of the building which now includes a second story, as well.
RACINE — From the bidding process to groundbreaking to the walls and roof going up, it has been a busy year for the Southern Local School District.
Superintendent Tony Deem said earlier this week that the new Southern High School building is on schedule to be completed by the beginning of the 2013-14 school year, give or take a week.
Despite the initial delay due to the required re-bid, the project has continued to run on schedule.
On Tuesday, Deem estimated that 90 percent of the concrete floors for the classrooms have been poured. The exterior walls on the majority of the building are in place, with the final wall to be put in place within the next few weeks.
The project is also running true to budget, and the district has not had to utilize the contingency money for the project.
Construction manager Ben Allen spoke about the work that is currently taking place on site and what will be taking place in the near future during a tour of the building site this week.
Work is continuing on the vocational agriculture classroom, which will be located near the back of the current elementary building.
Roof trusses are being placed on the main classroom portion of the building, which will allow for decking and then roofing materials to be put in place in approximately a month.
Deem stated that most of the mechanical and heating work has been put in place on the first floor. The new building will contain a state-of-the-art science classroom and vocational agriculture area, wireless Internet in the building and a new band room with practice area and storage.
Along the main roadway, traffic congestion has been helped by the placement of a speed sign and barriers, with the help of the Ohio Department of Transportation.
When the project is complete, or shortly before completion, the old high school building will be torn down. Deem said that plans are to leave the current vocational agriculture room, which was constructed in 1977, standing. That portion of the school can be used for storage or other needs.
The administrative offices, which are currently located in the high school building, cannot be constructed with funds that are in place for the new high school building. Deem said that the district will receive money for the sale of property in the village where the new office will be located in a strip mall which is yet to be constructed. The administrative office will house the superintendent, treasurer, assistant treasurer, federal program director and secretary.
Below is a timeline of the building project:
August 2010: Voters in the Southern Local School District approve a bond issue/maintenance levy during a special election to provide for the local share of the project. The local match required for the project is 25 percent, with 75 percent coming from the state.
March 2012: The bid for the early site work was awarded to Eclipse Company LLC in the amount of $776,433.57. The work included ground work, drainage and utilities.
April 2012: Bids on the main project were opened. Bids were over budget, and the contract could not be awarded.
May 2012: With the increased budget of $10.5 million, the second round of bids resulted in two bids.
June 2012: The contract for the building of the new Southern High School was awarded to Kinsale Corporation in the amount of $10,522,806. Nine of the possible 16 alternates were selected in addition to the main building project. Alternates for the project which will be completed, are the outdoor classroom ($23,577); decorative fence ($14,125); polished concrete in lieu of VCT in lobby ($15,600); convection oven ($10,400); convection steamer ($13,776); open front display coolers ($20,000); cashier stations ($9,077); water line to existing high school portion to remain ($3,100); and sound turret ($3,200).
Mid-June 2012: The formal groundbreaking ceremony was held on the project, and work began.
August 2012: The (expected) final school year in the old Southern High School began with many changes to the parking and school entry locations.
August 2013: Projected completion date of the project was set for the beginning of the 2013-14 school year.
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