Central Nine Career Center will ask schools to contribute about $4 million to a renovation project this spring, in hopes of expanding and redesigning its campus to accommodate future population growth and program demands.
The Central Nine school board on Thursday approved a partnership with architectural firm Lancer + Beebe, after hearing proposals from three competing firms, all of Indianapolis.
Lancer + Beebe has local roots. It also designed the new Worthsville Elementary School, which will open its doors this summer, Walnut Grove Elementary School, which opened in 2019, and an planned project at Indian Creek High School to renovate the auditorium and create a new activities center.
A primary goal of the Central Nine project is doubling its space for welding students. The current classroom holds about 25 students, and students are often put on a waitlist or told to take another class if there are no more available spots. Another goal is adding a classroom for culinary arts, a popular program that already has two designated classrooms, but still, there is demand for a third.
The project also involves adding an event space that would hold as many as 750 people. Previously, students had to go to other schools for Central Nine events, and guest speakers had to present in a large group instruction room, said Bill Kovach, director of Central Nine Career Center.
“If we need to do an orientation or we’re going to have a career day or induction ceremony, we don’t have the room. We have to find a location outside the school or divide students,” Kovach said.
“Last year, we went to Beech Grove (High School) for the National Honors Society induction. Internally, it would be good to have a space where we could have staff and students in one spot on campus. This would provide the opportunity for other outside groups to rent out the space and utilize the space for other events.”
Other changes include additional restrooms and parking spaces, he said.
In the next two months, Lancer + Beebe will create a finalized architectural proposal that fits the school’s budget. Then, in April or May, each of the nine member schools will be asked to vote on the plan. The proposal won’t move forward unless all of the school boards approve the plans with at least 75% of school board members signing on, Kovach said.
Central Nine will also ask its member schools to contribute based on its size.
If each school board approves the proposal, the project would move to the engineering phase, after which each part of the project would be bid out. Once construction bids are accepted, construction would begin, said Terry Lancer, of Lancer + Beebe.
Ideally, construction would begin in early 2022, Kovach said. There is no estimate yet on when construction would conclude because the scope of the project and how much of it will fall within budget has not been determined, he said.
