Sep. 13—Concrete work on a new middle school and gymnasium at McAlester Public Schools is scheduled to be complete later this month.

Josh Jacox, with Crossland Construction Co., updated MPS Board of Education members on the $35-million middle school and event center being built — providing targeted dates for the company to complete major milestones in the construction.

"Overall, we're progressing nicely," Jacox said, adding the site averages 125 workers per day working on various aspects of the project.

"I get to see it every day and I can already tell — I can see the driveways starting to go in and it's changing quickly," MPS Board President Joy Tribbey said. "It looks great."

Work started in November 2021 on the multi-level facility being constructed on the hill between McAlester High School and East Van Buren Avenue.

Nearly 80% of MPS district voters approved in February 2021 a $34.9 million bond toward construction of a middle school and event center. The bond extended two previous measures that brought an 8% tax increase in 2019, but did not increase taxes.

Plans for the facility include several classrooms and a new event center that doubles as a storm shelter for nearly 800 students in grades 7-12. The facility will be the district's newest primary building since the high school was built in 1979 and received additions in 1994 and 2006.

Crossland Construction Co., the construction manager for the project, provided a status report at Monday's meeting with a construction schedule targeting May 31, 2023 for completion of the project.

Milestone dates on the schedule include Sept. 30 for concrete completion — which Jacox said is mostly done and he will have a drone video update of the work available for board members soon.

Jacox said curb and gutter work is about 60% done, while most walls for the lower classroom wing are are framed.

"The lower wing is looking really good," Jacox said. "The HVAC guy will be out here this week to start setting up the penetration through the roof and we'll start roofing Oct. 3. So we're looking really good."

The schedule states masonry should be done Oct. 31, steel work is set to be complete Nov. 30, and the building should be dried in Dec. 15.

Crossland's report targets substantial completion for April 30, 2023 and project completion is set for May 31, 2023.

The report lists upcoming work as roofing, metal stud framing, roof curbs and penetrations, curb/gutter for parking lots, segmented retaining walls, gymnasium bar joists, asphalt paving and more.

Jacox said the site will change more with exterior construction over the next month before workers move to the interior.

District officials have also discussed consolidating buildings after completion of the new facility.

Officials have discussed moving kindergarten through second grade to the Will Rogers building, and moving third and fourth grades to Puterbaugh site.

Shared Blessings — a McAlester-based nonprofit — showed interest in purchasing a school facility.

Plans call to leave Eugene Field as the facility for alternative education and the nutrition department.

Officials have said Edmond Doyle Elementary, Jefferson Early Childhood Center and William Gay Early Childhood Center could be repurposed.

However, board members have yet to finalize plans for consolidating the sites.

Contact Adrian O'Hanlon III at aohanlon@mcalesternews.com