In The Works

With all construction projects, there are hiccups and unanticipated timeline changes. For the project we are beginning here at North Cross, a truly transformational one, most of the changes thus far have happened behind the scenes, as they hadn’t impacted our anticipated timeline significantly or required a change in our school calendar. However, we’ve recently become aware that the initial construction schedule which included the completion of the interior of Willis Hall (the upper school) during the summer of 2019 is too aggressive. We wanted our upper school students and faculty returning to new classrooms, with new furnishings, in September. For several reasons including lack of subcontractor availability and design process delays, we will need to delay the majority of interior work on Willis Hall until the summer of 2020.  

As was the case with me, I’m sure this change will be a disappointment to teachers and students alike, but it is important to look at this from a broader perspective. We still anticipate significant construction beginning this summer in Willis Hall and elsewhere on the campus, and are confident in meeting our original date for completion of construction by Labor Day weekend 2020. So, really, all that is changing is the timing of the milestones for the interior work of Willis Hall.

Here’s a breakdown of what we know:

• Construction is still anticipated to start and end as originally planned.
• The new roof on Willis will be completed this summer as will the renovation of the three science labs. This will eliminate our problems with rain and the renovation will include new casework, furniture, and flooring. However, the ceiling and lights will not be updated until next summer.
• The delay is the result of concern over our ability to finish the work in a timely fashion so that the classrooms were ready in time for our students’ return this fall.
• The board and campaign committee crunched the numbers, and the financial implications of ensuring the classrooms would be ready for the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year were significant, so it was agreed that prudent expenditure of our money dictated that we delay the schedule for Willis and, in the end, incur significant savings.  

I truly believe we are doing what we should do from a value and prudence perspective.  Nothing would be worse than spending good money when we didn’t have to, or reaching Labor Day Weekend without having classrooms ready.

This is a project I continue to be excited about, as do many of us here. If you have any questions regarding our plans or the details of our timeline, please do not hesitate to contact me or Mark Thompson.

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