News - Local News

POSTED: Friday, Jul. 03, 2009

Demolition begins on Shuksan Middle School, new building to open this fall

BELLINGHAM - The walls have started coming down at the old Shuksan Middle School building.

On Monday, June 29, Interwest Construction took control of the 52-year-old school building and soon after started removing exterior walls.

The company began with the northern walls near Alderwood Avenue. That part of the road is being widened to allow for a new turn lane into the school, said Bellingham School District spokeswoman Tanya Rowe.

Originally, the old Shuksan building was going to remain on the site for the 2009-10 school year as a temporary home for Bellingham School District staff while the district's Roeder building was undergoing seismic upgrades.

Instead, a field will be put in after the building is torn down. The Roeder upgrades won't happen next year, and district officials decided it was more important for Shuksan students to have fields for sports and physical education classes.

"If we take that new facility and (don't) have playfields there for kids, they'll lose a dimension of their education," said Superintendent Ken Vedra.

The new 82,000-square foot-school building is located on the field to the southwest of the old school and has been under construction since spring 2008. The $16.7 million project was approved by voters as part of a $67 million bond in 2006.

The Shuksan demolition is expected to last until mid-August, with the new school opening its doors this fall.