Project Update — August 7, 2020

It now looks like Luxemburg-Casco High School and Middle School!

Visitors to the combined entrance of the renovated high school and brand-new middle school immediately know where they are.

A large Spartan head logo, along with the words, “Luxemburg-Casco, Home of the Spartans,” welcomes those stepping into the building’s vestibule. “LC” also has been burnished into the polished concrete floor. Graphics also clearly differentiate the administrative offices of the High School and Middle School.“The new Middle School, along with the remodeled areas of the High School, really are turning out as beautiful as we had imagined when the referendum projects first got underway,” says L-C District Superintendent Glenn Schlender. “We are excited to deliver what the community asked for years ago. All of the staff also seem to be excited about the new facilities.”Schlender indicated that the district expects to hold an Open House event of some sort in September, once the school year is underway, to allow district residents the opportunity to see the new Middle School and renovated areas of the High School.With the start of the 2020-21 academic year only mere weeks away, final finishes and preparations continue to take place.

In mid-June, professional movers moved large and packed items from the former Middle School in Casco into the new Middle School. More than 1,600 small- and medium-sized boxes were utilized in the process.

All of the Middle School teachers essentially are moved into their classrooms at this point. A new Art Room, featuring stainless steel sinks, is coming together as boxes are unpacked.

The High School office moved to its new location at the front of the building on June 26. In its former location, four new classrooms are in the process of being completed following demo work.Seven other existing classrooms within the existing High School building were remodeled and refreshed with new cabinetry, paint and flooring. A new hallway, leading to the metals shop of the High School and Middle School, was completed this week.Repurposed space within the High School has been turned into lab space for Middle School Family and Consumer Science students, including the installation of new cabinetry. The adjacent High School culinary lab will see its high-end, commercial-grade equipment be installed next week.New lockers were installed within the new Middle School in the latter part of June.This week, work continued in the combined cafeteria of the Middle and High Schools. Installers from H.J. Martin and Son were laying the laminate in the seating area. Nearby, food service equipment, including the commercial kitchen hood system, was being put into place.

Just outside the exterior doors of the cafeteria, the district recently expanded a concrete patio with picnic-table seating, which will allow a number of students to eat their lunch outside if they so choose in the new era of social distancing.

The new boy’s and girl’s Middle School locker rooms, formed in spaces vacated due to new High School athletic facilities, also have been completed. The Middle School girl’s locker room is located where the stage was in the old High School gymnasium.

The new Media Center in the High School also is beginning to take shape. All of the new book shelves are installed, and school personnel started to put books on them the latter part of this week. Soft seating areas within the Media Center also are ready for student use.Work also was taking place in the new multi-purpose room adjoining the Gym Atrium. Omni Glass & Paint painted the walls in L-C red. A ceiling installer from H.J. Martin and Son worked on installation of the grids.The Fitness Center has been completed for several weeks and is being utilized by L-C student-athletes as they prepare for their upcoming seasons.The construction firm office trailers were removed from the High School parking lot in mid-June and the surface was re-graded.

This week, water trucks from Northeast Asphalt prepared the ground for the new asphalt of the High and Middle School parking lot. Earlier in the week, curbs had been poured. It is anticipated that all of the asphalt work will be completed by the end of next week.

The lone issue experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic was a supplier-related delay in delivery of cabinetry for classrooms and other spaces. That problem was overcome and the cabinets largely have been installed.

On August 17, all boxes and construction-related materials are expected to be out of the Middle and High School buildings to aid in preparation for the Sept. 1 start of new school year.

Nexus Solutions, manager of the referendum projects for the L-C School District, will remain engaged with district personnel until such time that 100 percent of the punch-list items are completed. To do so, tradesmen will come into the Middle and High School buildings after school hours. Nexus also will ensure that every warranty item is honored.

Nexus Project Manager Mike Frailing complimented Melanie Parma and the entire team at Somerville Architects for their attention to detail, particularly related to the graphics, and in meeting all deadlines as the Middle/High School project nears completion.He shared that Somerville personnel had proofread the entire Inspiration Wall, painted near the entrance of the new Middle School in mid-July, to ensure that there were no errors amongst the hundreds of words on it.“Somerville has been a great asset to this project,” says Frailing. “I also want to compliment the Luxemburg-Casco staff, who have worked to make sure that the project stayed on time.“Our goal is to finish the project strong. The remaining contactors – SMA, H.J. Martin and Omni, among others – are doing their part to help us do that.”

Frailing indicated that exterior signage would be added during the second half of August.

In Casco, workers from The Boldt Company and Omni have been performing exterior work on the former Middle School building to ready it for its planned use as an alternative school. Unused areas also will be prepared for dormancy.