Buildings continueprogress

Lincoln Elementary will open in fall 2007; Harding High in 2008.
BY AMANDA GARRETT
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Cranes are lowering steel beams, bulldozers are moving earth and workers are putting bricks on buildings as the first two Warren schools in a districtwide construction project move forward.
Anyone driving down Elm Road Northeast can't miss the massive framework for the new Warren G. Harding High School, which is adjacent to the old high school.
The $45 million building is expected to open at the beginning of the 2008-2009 school year. Carbone, Ozanne and Hammond, of Canton is constructing it from a design by Olsavsky Jaminet Architects of Youngstown.
The new campus will have two sections -- one for freshmen and sophomores, and one for juniors and seniors.
Although students will be separated during classes, they will share a cafeteria, media center, auditorium, band rooms and athletic areas.
Coming along
Board of education member Edward Bolino said recently that he's pleased with the construction progress.
"It's good to see all the construction going on while it's still warm weather," he said. "I have never seen a high school so massive, and I think everyone is going to be very pleased when its completed."
Most of the old Harding High School will be demolished except for center of the building, which will be retained because of its historical significance.
The 43,510 square-foot facility will house an auditorium and historical displays from all the district's schools, according to the district's Ohio School Facilities Commission plan.
K-8 schools
A few blocks east of the Harding site, the new Lincoln School is nearing completion.
Lincoln, which is the first K-8 school to be built, is expected to open at the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year.
The old Lincoln Elementary on Atlantic Avenue Northeast was demolished this past summer to make room for the new 140,000-square-foot building. The pupils have been moved to Lincoln at Devon Elementary on Central Parkway Southeast while construction is under way. Carbone Ozanne and Hammond is constructing this building from a design by Fanning/Howey Associates Inc.
When the $17 million structure opens next fall, it will house 1,100 pupils, who will be separated by their grade levels.
The new Lincoln will feature expanded common areas, a foreign language room and more space for home economics classes, according to the facilities commission plan.
"We've got a roof on Lincoln, so workers will be inside there all through the winter," school board President Robert Faulkner Sr. said. "We'll be ready to go at the beginning of the school year."
Model school
The new Lincoln building will serve as a model for three future K-8 schools, which will be built on a staggered schedule.
Construction of the school on Willard Avenue Southeast is under way, and it is expected to be finished by summer 2008.
Construction of the Jefferson School on Fifth Street Southwest will get under way in the winter of 2007, and construction of a school on Parkman Road Northwest will begin in the winter of 2008.
Anyone wanting to look at a floor plan of the Lincoln, Willard and Harding sites can visit the district's Web site at www.warrenschools.k12.oh.us. The $153 million project is being co-funded by the state facilities commission and the school district. The facilities commission will pay for 81 percent of the cost, and the other 19 percent will come from a taxpayer-approved bond issue.
agarrett@vindy.com