Jul. 29—LA GRANDE — The new academic and athletic center La Grande School District voters approved a $4.845 million bond for in May, could be 1-1/2 years from becoming a reality.

Construction of the new building may start in late May or early June of 2023 and could be finished by late 2023 or early 2024, according to Joseph Waite, the La Grande School District's facilities manager.

"We want the building to be occupied in the fall of 2023 as early as possible," Waite said.

Proposals by contractors bidding for the building project will be accepted by the school district through Tuesday, Aug. 30. The La Grande School Board will award a bid to a contractor in the early fall. Waite said the contractor will have 420 days to design and construct the building after being awarded the contract.

"That is when the clock will start ticking," Waite said.

The company selected may do its own design work or partner with another firm.

The La Grande School District will have a total of $8.845 million available to construct the academic and athletic center, which will include two gyms, because it will also receive a $4 million Oregon School Capital Improvement Matching program grant from the state to help fund the construction of the new building. The school district would not have received the matching grant if the bond levy, Measure 31-105, had failed.

The new building the bond package will fund will replace the current Annex gym, next to the La Grande Middle School. The Annex building, which is about nine decades old, will be torn down. In addition, the school district's maintenance building, which is connected via a sky bridge to the Annex and was built around 1910, will also be removed.

The maintenance building facilities will be moved in early 2023 to the Adams Professional Plaza on Adams Avenue, which the school district has purchased. Half of the building space the school district has purchased there will be leased to La Grande Light Truck, Waite said.

It has not been determined when the Annex gym will be removed. Waite said it would be best if it can remain up until the new academic and athletic center is constructed, for this would mean gym space at the site would be available to the school district and the public while the academic and athletic center is being built. Waite said though that the Annex gym may have to be torn down before the new structure is built to provide the space needed for its construction.

The new structure — which in addition to two gyms will have locker rooms and multiple classrooms — will be a pre-engineered building, one for which parts will be manufactured before construction starts. Constructing a pre-engineered building will take less time. One reason is that it is designed to have the frame and roof put up first, Waite said. This will allow construction crews to do interior work much earlier because the structure's interior will be protected from inclement weather.

Dick Mason is a reporter with The Observer. Contact him at 541-624-6016 or dmason@lagrandeobserver.com.

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