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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
HomeEducationMCHS held Groundbreaking Ceremony today at Noon

MCHS held Groundbreaking Ceremony today at Noon

Clarksville Montgomery County School System received six competitive bids for renovations and additions to Montgomery Central High School with Denark Construction, Inc. of Knoxville submitting the low bid of $18,395,000.

Violette Architecture / Interior Design led the project’s multi-disciplinary design team from Master Planning through Construction Document production and Bidding. Architects, Interior, Graphics and Food Service Designers, Civil, Structural, Mechanical, and Electrical Engineers were challenged to upgrade the unique forty year-old education facility to current safety, accessibility and academic standards without exceeding fixed construction budget limits.

The project’s design increases the school’s total area by over fifty percent through six additions and interior renovations throughout. The largest addition is over 40,000 square feet in area. Located near Highway 48/13, it includes media center and administrative space on the first floor and freshman academy on the second floor.

Architect Rendering of MCHS Design
Architect Rendering of MCHS Design

The freshman academy includes nine classrooms, a science lab and support space. The 11,000 square foot food service addition provides receiving, cooking and serving space adjoining the existing cafeteria. The third major addition is nearly 18,000 square feet in area. Its innovative design uses telescoping seating for a maximum capacity of 582 persons for theatrical productions or full-court basketball as an auxiliary gymnasium. Four smaller additions provide improved security and accessibility through climate-controlled connectors and stairway enclosures nearly 16,500 square feet in total area.

Renovations to the existing facility include enclosing exterior walkways, increasing cafeteria and instrumental music capacity, gymnasium athletic flooring replacement, structural repairs, and a new elevator serving three core floor levels. Facility-wide improvements include automatic fire suppression system, HVAC controls system and energy-efficient lighting. A closed-loop heat pump system will transfer heat from and to the lake to reduce long-term energy costs.

Exterior modifications include improved site-wide accessibility, better storm water drainage, increased parking capacity, wider traffic lanes and low-energy lighting.

Funding for this project is provided in part by a grant administered under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Final completion of construction is scheduled for June 2012.

Activities and access normal to the three Montgomery Central schools will be impacted considerably. “Principals at all three schools have received communication and are sharing with those directly affected,” said Chief Operations  officer Jim Sumrell. “However, we believe that providing the students and community with the facility they deserve will be worth the temporary sacrifice.”

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