Demolition begins next week on Henry Paideia Academy, an 87-year-old elementary school located at 419 Henry Street. Construction officials said the school’s replacement – Martin Luther King Learning Academy, a state-of-the-art facility going up next door – will be ready for school personnel to begin interior setup by mid July.
The new three-story school just passed a series of local and state inspections and should be operational well before classes start this fall. The project’s last phase will be the addition this fall of a new parking lot and playground where the Henry school now stands.
Designed to easily handle curriculum and classroom changes, the new school features movable partitions and modern wiring. It also features a glassed-in common area that links the main school with a branch containing the gymnasium and cafeteria.
Rockford Construction is managing the $9 million construction project, part of the Grand Rapids Public Schools’ $150 million effort to modernize its hardest pressed facilities.
Source: Tom McGovern, Rockford Construction
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