BCS breaks ground on new Oak Harbor Intermediate School
OAK HARBOR — Community members celebrated the groundbreaking of Benton-Carroll-Salem School District's Oak Harbor Intermediate School Tuesday, as the district looks to complete the new addition by late 2023.
The addition will be BCS's first new building since 1975.
Superintendent Guy Parmigian said that after many delays, the school district is now in a position where it's able to build Oak Harbor Intermediate School.
"It's a historic day because we've been talking about it for over 25 years," Parmigian said.
BCS' board approved Holland-based Midwest Contracting Inc. Tuesday as the project's general contractor, with the district entering into a $13,053,900 contract with the company.
He said construction will likely start after the Fourth of July holiday.
Parmigian said Midwest Contracting was one of three companies that bid on the project.
The new school will house students in grades 4-6.
Parmigian said there will be some shared spaces between Oak Harbor Intermediate and R.C. Waters Elementary School when the new 45,000-square-foot addition is completed.
He said the district has been fiscally conservative for years, which, combined with voters passing two levies, allowed BCS to construct a new, modern building for students and teachers.
Oak Harbor Mayor Quinton Babcock spoke at Tuesday's grand opening ceremony.
Prior to the ceremony, Babcock said that BCS and Parmigian had been instrumental in looking out for students and meeting their needs as they progress through grades in the school district.
"It's exciting to have this great new facility for the community," Babcock said.
Jessica Grzechowiak of the Ottawa County Improvement Corporation said the new BCS building is a big deal for the community and for OCIC from an economic development standpoint.
"It's an attraction piece. It's fresh and new. It's attractive to families who may want to relocate. More families mean more workers, and having more workers are beneficial to our business community and our local workforce," Grzechowiak said.
Students in grades 4-6 will be moved from the current middle school to the new addition at R.C. Waters over the summer of 2023, according to the district's website.
Students in grade 7 will move to Oak Harbor High School for the 2022-23 school year.
Oak Harbor High School will be operated as a comprehensive grades 7-12 building with an administrative team and one main office.
According to the district, there are also renovations planned at the existing R.C. Waters building, including the installation of a new heating/cooling system at an estimated cost of $1.1 million.
The district has also budgeted approximately $150,000 for other renovations to the existing R.C. Waters building. The spending of these funds will be largely contingent upon the design of the new construction.
Anticipated completion of the project is Nov. 1, 2023.
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This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: B0CS ready for new school, breaks ground on Oak Harbor Intermediate
