Construction Update: New school construction on track for fall opening
May 24, 2017
Dorothy Dodds Elementary School will be ready for classes to begin in the fall, and the grades 5-6 Horizon Middle School West Campus will have enough of the school completed to accommodate classes, the Moorhead School Board was told during an update May 8.
Dan Kleist, Gehrtz Construction Services, said the south education wing of Horizon West should be mostly complete by the end of June or early July. The administration wing, commons and media center will be mostly complete by the end of July.
The gymnasium, kitchen and music rooms are painted with flooring and ceilings being installed. Kleist said they are waiting for installation of mechanical equipment before the gymnasium wood flooring is installed.
At this time, the north classroom wing will be finished a couple months after school starts with the auditorium scheduled to be done by the end of the year.
Work began a few weeks ago on the tennis courts and athletic field areas, Kleist said. Concrete was scheduled to be poured for the tennis courts in mid May with field materials going in for the baseball diamonds.
Steve Gehrtz, Gehrtz Construction Services, said Dorothy Dodds Elementary is further along because the 750-student K-4 elementary school is smaller than the Horizon West addition. Cabinets and classroom millwork will arrive and start going in this month. The ceiling grid is in, and light fixtures are being installed.
The two classroom wings are ready for ceiling tile, light fixtures, flooring and cabinets, he said.
“Our focus is to get the mechanical systems running, and do the final punch list,” Gehrtz said. “As they are ready we can start stocking some of those rooms.”
They are doing drywall taping in the kindergarten area and painting in the administration area, he said. In June, those areas will be in pretty good shape for cabinets and flooring.
One gymnasium is getting ductwork, and painting is being done in the other gym.
“It’s amazing how much work gets done in the course of a week,” he said.
On the exterior, all the masonry work is complete, Gerhtz said. They are installing metal panels on the exterior walls. Site grading and seeding will be done in June after an access road is in place.
Gehrtz noted that different contractors will be working on the remodeling projects that will be done this summer at Robert Asp, Ellen Hopkins and S.G. Reinertsen Elementary Schools. Pre-construction meetings are being held for the three renovation projects.
“It’s exciting to watch it happen,” said Bill Tomhave, School Board chair. “Everybody’s eager to get in there and get to the business that we’re about, which is working with kids.”
Photo caption: Construction of Dorothy Dodds Elementary School, the district’s new grades K-4 school, is on track to be completed for the start of the 2017-18 school year.
Watch our construction update videos
Get a mini tour of the Horizon West construction with Principal Carla Smith in this video update:
Check out the construction progress at Dorothy Dodds Elementary with Principal Robin Grooters and Assistant Principal Nancy Wilson in this video update:
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