Construction of the new Kelly Road Secondary School remains on schedule for completion by next September, School District 57 said Wednesday.
The new school, which carries a $44.3-million price tag, will hold 900 students and will replace the original Kelly Road Secondary School, which was built in the early 1960s.
It will also house the latest in technology and design, according to the school district.
"This is the first time that it's all being brought together all at once," said Barry Bepple, School District No. 57's Energy and Sustainable Conservation Coordinator.
"We do all of this technology at individual locations throughout our district but this is the first opportunity we've had to build it and bring it all together as a collection of all the things we've been learning about.
"People will liken it to Duchess Park, which was completed in 2010, but it's different," Bepple added. "It's designed differently, the spaces within it are designed differently. There are a lot of feature enhancements to each of the spaces."
The new building sits behind the original one at 4540 Handlen Road, which will be torn down once it is no longer in use. That will begin during the fall of 2020 with removal of hazardous material from inside the school. The full demolition could be finished by as early as spring 2021.
After that, some grading work around the new school will be done, followed by the installation of roadways, bus lanes and parking lots.
