High School Breaks Ground on New Academic Building for $66.8M Construction Project

  • By Matt Jones
  • 06/29/21

School and public officials celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony this week on a new academic building for Clinton High School in Clinton, Iowa. The groundbreaking marks the start of a campus overhaul that will occur in phases, and the full scope of the $66.8-million project is scheduled to be complete by fall 2025. The three-story academic building will house about 75% of the school’s academic classes and is slated to be finished by winter 2022.

Students will continue attending classes in the existing building, adjacent to the construction site, until 2022. Once the new building is ready, the majority of the school’s academic programs will transfer there, and the current academic building will be mostly demolished. Superintendent Gary DeLacy notes that the school’s gym and pool will remain undisturbed. “You’ll have that two-and-a-half-year dance of construction going on, and we’re still conducting business here,” he said.

Once the current academic building is razed, another phase of construction will fill that spot with new buildings that will house a technology education center, a performing and fine arts center, and a commons area. “It will be close to a four-year process to get that all taken care of,” said DeLacy.

The Clinton community passed the project in March 2020, voting for a bond referendum that paid for about $38.7 million of the project. DeLacy commented that because of the coronavirus pandemic, the final cost of the project came in higher than expected, but not by enough to prevent the work from moving forward.

Additional funds are coming from a one-cent sales tax and funds from the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy.

“It’s huge for economic development,” said Mayor Scott Maddaison. “One of the first questions that a site selector or someone coming in is they want to know what the schools look like. It’s just going to be huge to be able to show that off as folks are looking to come to our community.”

The architects for the project are Frevert-Ramsey-Kobes Architects and Engineers, and construction will be done by Tricon Construction of Dubuque.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Electrifying Bus Fleets

    Now is an excellent time for K-12 “yellow” school buses, college campus transportation, and public transit systems to transition to zero-emission electric buses instead of traditional gas or diesel-powered models.

  • American University Launches Sustainability Research Project

    American University in Washington, D.C., recently began a research project exploring the relationship between purchase decisions for university campuses and sustainability, according to a news release. The study seeks to explore how “greening” the purchases involved in student housing renovations, breaking ground on new facilities, buying new equipment and supplies, and more, can foster larger sustainability goals.

  • DreamBox Math

    Discovery Education Debuts Enhancements to DreamBox Math

    Discovery Education recently announced that DreamBox Math, an online math program for K–8 students to supplement core instruction, has been updated to improve accessibility for K–5 students, according to a news release. DreamBox Math provides personalized instruction by adapting to individual learners’ responses and providing an engaging, dynamic learning environment.

  • Craig Gaulden Davis Architecture Announces Merger with PBK

    Craig Gaulden Davis Architecture (CGD), based in South Carolina and Maryland, recently announced that it has merged with PBK, the largest K–12 architectural firm in the U.S., according to a news release. The firm will operate as Craig Gaulden Davis | PBK with 31 offices across the country.