BONNYVILLE – Construction of the Bonnyville Centralized High School (BCHS) is "progressing well." And acccording to BCHS principal Mark Centazzo, students and staff could be moving back into the renovated facility by April 1, 2021, if everything continues to move the way it is.
“We’re very excited to get back into the actual school this coming spring,” said Centazzo. “Not that we haven’t enjoyed the facilities and hospitality of the C2, but to be back in our own building is going to be fantastic.”
The gym roof should go in within the next month, cladding continues to go on the exterior of all walls, windows should be arriving on-site within the next three weeks for installation, and wiring and plumbing on the interior of the facility are ongoing and progress well, he stated.
“I have it on good authority that the construction crews will be working right into December and we express our thanks to them for that,” he added.
Upgrades to BCHS were approved by the provincial government in March of 2017, which is when they allocated $500-million to 26 school projects across the province.
The finalized design for the local high school includes an NBA-sized gymnasium, a full-sized kitchen, more natural lighting, an updated common area, among other upgrades.
Although the school moved everyone to the Bonnyville and District Centennial Centre at the beginning of the 2019/20 school year, construction didn’t officially start until the end of April 2020. The contract was awarded to Jen-Col Construction on March 11 by Alberta Infrastructure.
Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS) released a statement in January of this year expressing their dismay that the project hadn’t been started and was just going out for tender at the time.
The initial plan was to move students and staff back into the school at the end of the first phase of the project, which was originally anticipated to be completed in January 2021.
In an Oct. 16 update, BCHS shared that the foundation work had been completed for the new structural portions, new gym walls were currently being erected, structural steel had also been erected, a majority of mechanical equipment was installed, roofing was ongoing, all underground sewer and water work was completed, among others.
In order to ensure the safety of everyone during construction and minimizing disruption to student learning, that plan was adjusted so everyone stays at the C2 until phase two of the project is completed in April.
That would mean the building would be fully modernized at that point, and only the theatre and exterior work would still need to be completed at that time.
“It sounds like only because the weather didn’t cooperate this fall, the parking lot won’t be done and otherwise most things will be final,” explained Centazzo.
Further updates will be provided by BCHS on the project as they become available.
