Recent heavy rains haven’t kept the steadfast crew from making progress on the new Patrick Henry School and Recreation Center — and neither will the impending summer heat.
This month marks the one-year anniversary of the start of construction at the Patrick Henry site. While you may not envision a school and recreation center at this stage, major work will take place this summer to help the new buildings take shape and be ready for students early next year.
The giant gray structure that dominates the landscape will be weatherproofed and walled-in on the interior and finished with masonry brick on the exterior. Classrooms, offices and activity spaces will begin to take shape.
Energy efficient windows will fill the blank spaces that punctuate the evolving structure and the roofing will be completed. So long to standing water and mud!
Door frames will be set and the mechanics of the building — piping, duct work, wiring and related equipment — will be installed. Next comes establishing permanent utility services, like water, electricity and cable.
We’ll top off the site so that the grounds are prepped and ready for permanent landscaping in the coming months and for the installation of the bus loop.
Once the new facility is in full use, the old facility will be demolished. Underground utilities will be installed, the parking lot will be laid along with the synthetic turf and landscaping work will commence, leading to the completion of the project in 2019.
To stay up to date on the progress of the site, bookmark this time-lapse video (be sure to click the time-lapse link above the image) and visit it now and then. You can also visit the Patrick Henry Project web page and sign up for email updates.