The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Last touches added to elementary school
Construction on the new Powers Elementary School is on time and nearing completion on South Lake Street.
The new Powers Elementary School, 393 S. Lake St. in Amherst, is on time and nearing completion.
With landscaping already being done on the south side entrance of the building and the firstthrough third-grade playground being installed on the north side, the exterior of the building is starting to look like the school as envisioned by the district.
Currently, the entire building is somewhere around 90 percent complete, said Chuck Grimmett, Amherst Exempted Village Schools building and grounds supervisor.
By Oct. 4, Grimmett said the district should receive the keys to the building and construction completely finished by Nov. 1.
Fine tuning and last touches, like adding room placards and whiteboards, will be finished.
Students are expected to move into the new building the first week of January 2020.
One of the major features of the building is the color on both its exterior and interior, which adds major curb appeal, Grimmett said.
“When (students) pull up to the front of our building, they’re going to be able to see the playground and they’ll be able to see the playground and all this color, and they’re going to want to get out and go play,” he said. “That’s the whole idea.”
Finished so far
With construction on the school winding down, Grimmett said there now is a smaller construction crew doing day-to-day work on the building, having once seen as many as 90 crew members working on the building at a time. Throughout the building, about 70 percent of the flooring, both tiling and carpeting, is finished, including nearly all mechanical, plumbing and electrical components.
A third coat of paint is being applied to most of the walls in the building.
The school’s gymnasium maple wood floor was installed and painted sometime within the past two months.
Besides a buffing, Grimmett said the gym is ready to use.
The school’s cooling unit, located on the roof of the building, was installed, which will work to regulate its temperature in the warmer months.
Since the old Powers school is cooled down by individual unit air conditioners in the summer, the new system is a step up.
The building requires countless miles of wiring, which crews are still working on. By next week, all playground equipment should be installed, Grimmett said.
Kitchen equipment is being installed.
With a slanted floor, Grimmett said students and kitchen staff now can see eye-to-eye on either side of the counter.
“The staff is actually standing lower than the children, so because they’re so little, they’ll be able to grab a hold of something,” he said. “They’ll be all to see the food.”
Since the school will take on another grade level, Grimmett said the district will need to hire additional staff.
“There’s going to be a lot more food and they’ll probably have some kind of program for adult lunches,” he said, adding that Board of Education office members will be able to take advantage of the program.
Special features
Flooring for the pre-k classrooms was installed and provide an extra twist.
Floor tiles outside each classroom are color-coded to the color of the room, making it easier for teachers to give direction to their students, Grimmett said.
Other flooring throughout the building also utilizes the same colors found on the building’s exterior.
“It sort of brings it all together because those four or five colors are all on the outside,” Grimmett said.
Additionally, sound-absorbing panels were installed in certain classrooms, the cafeteria and gym to help with sound quality.
A brick wall at the south entrance with salvaged bricks from the three older elementary schools in Amherst that were demolished will greet people entering the building.
Grimmett said community members and staff recently purchased bricks to have engraved and dedicated to families or staff members.
Saying goodbye
As for the current Powers building, Grimmett said it will go to auction the first week of February 2020.
“We’re going to auction out some things and probably we’ll scrap some stuff,” he said.
The public can walk through the old Powers school Sept. 29 and Dec. 1 to say goodbye to the building.