News

Contractor completes phase 1 of HHS project in time for kickoff, school bell

By Lightning Reports, Published: August 23, 2019

A contractor completed the first phase of work on the Hendersonville High School renovation-construction project in time for school opening on Monday, down to repaving, striping parking spaces and crosswalk and even the white Bearcat paws.

Tennoca Construction Co., which was awarded a $1,351,490 contract for the work, completed drainage work, renovating the vocational ed building for use as a cafeteria and other work. The county's capital project managers and the construction manager at risk, Vannoy Construction, determined that work needed to start this summer in order to finish the project by school opening in August 2023.

“Our staff have been on staff daily as work continues,” John Mitchell, the county's director of community and business development told commissioners on Wednesday. The project is “on schedule and on budget. The vocational building renovation into the temporary cafeteria is complete, our health department has signed off, all sewer and stormwater work in Oakland Street and Bearcat Boulevard is complete. The new generator and transformer pad/retaining wall which you’ll notice around the track is completed."

By sundown Thursday, the contractor had also finished the striping and restored the campus yard to the way it was before the work started in June.
“The important thing to note is that per the schedule we are going to be out of the way with sod on the ground by this Friday," Mitchell said Wednesday morning. "Which is important because I understand there’s a football game and we had our contractor check the announcement system and the lights and we do believe it’ll go off without a hitch.”

The $60 million project includes renovation of the original core classroom building and auditorium and the Jim Pardue Gymnasium, construction of a new classroom building parallel to Oakland Street and construction of a new practice gym and demolition of the cafeteria, band room, vocational-ed building and old gym. HHS will also get a new track and artificial turf on the football field once the construction is completed.