Southern Gap High School welcomed students into its halls Friday after the massive construction project received its certificate of occupancy three days ahead of schedule.
Construction Superintendent Tim Burge delivered the news during the Buchanan County School Board’s Aug. 18 meeting, calling the completion of the nearly 200,000-square-foot school a team effort involving Branch Builds, its trade partners, school officials and others throughout the county.
“We got our CO last Tuesday, three days early on the contract,” Burge said. “Thanks to Branch Builds, their trade partners, everyone else, the school system, working with everyone. It has been a team effort.”
The certificate of occupancy cleared the way for Southern Gap to open Friday as Buchanan County’s only high school. The school serves nearly 800 students in grades eight through 12 from the former Council, Grundy, Hurley and Twin Valley attendance areas.
Although students are now inside the building, work remains underway on several areas of the campus. Crews will continue addressing punch-list items, door hardware and other finishing work while completing the school’s outdoor athletic facilities.
Burge said the remaining work inside the school will be scheduled around classes.
“We’ll be working at night if we have to,” Burge said. “We won’t interrupt the school. Whatever’s going on in school, we’ll be working nights and weekends for punch-list items and those type of things.”
Student safety, he said, remained the project team’s top priority as opening day approached.
“The school kids can go to school safely, and that’s our most important, is that they come to school and they’re safe,” Burge said.
The new school had already passed its first major public test before classes began. A large crowd filled the Red Robertson Athletic Complex on Aug. 15 for Southern Gap’s preseason football scrimmage against Patrick Henry.
Burge said the stadium’s sound system has been installed, weight-room equipment has been placed, and wrestling mats and wall padding have been added to the wrestling room. A new sound system for the gym is scheduled to be installed during the week of Aug. 24, while a date is still being determined for installation of a light-show system in the gym.
During the meeting, school board members viewed a drone video offering a tour of the campus. Former Buchanan County Career, Technology and Higher Learning Center student Teddy Smith, now in college, filmed the footage. Engineering teacher Kayla Cantrell helped assemble the presentation.
The video carried viewers down the home-side sidewalk at the football stadium, past the concession area and bleachers and onto the artificial turf. An 8-foot fence surrounds the football field, and crews were still installing additional fencing along the top of a retaining wall.
“Honestly, it looks great seeing the kids out there playing ball and the cheerleaders and looking forward to seeing the band on the field, hopefully real soon,” Burge said.
Inside, the video highlighted the large gymnasium, which can accommodate three full-size courts. The main bleachers rise approximately a story and a half and extend to within about 26 feet of the basketball court’s sidelines when opened. The floor will also accommodate four wrestling mats.
The cafeteria offers students several types of seating, including traditional round tables, high-top tables and booths. Additional seating overlooks the outdoors through the building’s large windows.
The auditorium was still receiving finishing touches before opening day. Its sound and lighting systems must be completed, the curtains have not arrived, and employees will need training on the equipment.
Burge said he looks forward to seeing the auditorium eventually host plays and academic competitions.
Classrooms were largely in place by the time of the board meeting. Teachers had begun arranging the flexible desks in several configurations. At the same time, science instructors were brought into the building early because their rooms contained some of the most equipment and supplies.
The library includes book shelving, traditional seating and enclosed egg-shaped chairs that rock as students sit in them.
Curtis Elswick Sr., vice president with Skanska, said preparing Southern Gap for students involved much more than completing construction and handing over the keys.
“There’s been a lot of training on all the HVAC equipment, other pieces of the buildings, scoreboards, stadium lighting; all those things have been happening so that the school system, Mark Cooper, principal of Southern Gap High School, and his team know how to actually operate the school,” Elswick said.
Architects conducted an educational orientation to help teachers, staff members and students learn their way around the 57-acre campus. The training explained the school’s floor plan, room-numbering system, emergency exits and the ideas that influenced its design.
The building was designed around a central spine running along the mountain’s ridgeline. Its colors and materials reference Buchanan County’s industrial and coal-mining heritage.
Teachers received a one-page, front-and-back guide containing floor and site plans and information about the gym, auditorium and other major areas. Students were scheduled to receive a similar orientation Friday morning.
Architects also led tours of the career and technical education areas, including welding and nursing labs, to help instructors understand how the specialized spaces and equipment were designed to function.
School Board Chairman and North Grundy District board member David Thornbury said the project was never expected to be finished by the time students arrived for their first day. The current construction schedule calls for several outdoor facilities to be ready in time for spring sports.
Baseball and softball fields, a track and a multipurpose field that can accommodate soccer and other activities are among the remaining projects. Elswick said crews will continue working on those facilities for approximately three more months. Grass is already growing in portions of the outdoor complex.
Some career and technical education equipment will also require several more weeks to install. Elswick said that will not significantly disrupt students because the programs will begin with classroom instruction.
Students will eventually leave their mark on the new school. Career and technical education classes are developing a perforated-metal design for an empty steel wall near the dining area.
Students are creating the design with computer-aided design software, and welding students will use a computer numerical control machine to cut it into metal. Branch Builds will install the finished piece, and lighting will be placed behind it.
“It’s something that the kids actually did,” Elswick said.
Thornbury thanked the construction team for keeping the project on schedule and delivering the certificate of occupancy early.
“Everything’s looking good,” Thornbury said. “Everybody’s excited.”
While construction will continue around portions of the campus during the coming months, Thornbury said the building will continue taking shape as students and teachers settle into their new home.
“It will take shape over the next few months and should be pretty exciting as we go,” he said.
CAPTIONS:
1: Drone footage captured by former Buchanan County Career, Technology and Higher Learning Center student Teddy Smith shows the front of the new Southern Gap High School.
2: A view from the interior bridge overlooks Southern Gap High School’s cafeteria, which features round tables, high-top tables, booth seating and large windows (Photo contributed by Teddy Smith).
