LEXINGTON — Plans for a new Lexington elementary school are shifting westward.
The architecture firm chosen for Lexington Local Schools’ new PreK-6th grade building has recommended locating the building at the current Western Elementary site at 385 W. Main St.
“When the architects came in, they had some concerns about where we were intending — either in front or behind Central (Elementary) — to locate the new elementary building,” school board president Keith Stoner said.
“They took a tour of all the district buildings and they really liked the Western site,” he said.
Representatives from GDP Group, an Akron-based architecture firm, laid out their findings during a board meeting Wednesday night.
The firm estimated it would take about five weeks to do necessary abatements at Western Elementary versus 16 weeks to do so at Central Elementary. Existing fill or foundation from the demolition of the old junior high school could also cause unforeseen complications at the Central site.
Moving the elementary school to the west side of town would also alleviate traffic flow during pick up and drop-off.
Central Elementary is located on Frederick Street, just down the road from the district’s combined junior high and high school building and within walking distance from Lexington’s downtown.
“It helps with the traffic flow in the center of Lexington dramatically by moving away from the high school/junior high setting,” Stoner said.
It would also be more cost-effective in terms of grading and stormwater management work — GDP estimated pre-construction costs would be around $358,000 for Western and $2.4 million for Central.
Stoner said Shook Construction will be the construction managing firm. Shook also managed the construction of the district’s 7-12 grade building.
Both Shook Construction and GDP Group were approved in conjunction with the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, which is funding the lion’s share of the project.
School officials hope to break ground this year
Lexington school district voters approved a 37-year, 8.6-mill bond levy in 2018 to fund the construction of two new buildings — an elementary and a combined junior high and high school.
District leaders planned to construct the new elementary and grades 7 to 12 buildings at the same time, as soon the OFCC released the funds.
After it became clear the funds would be delayed, Lexington joined the OFCC’s Expedited Local Partnership Program, which allows districts to begin facilities projects using local funds.
“We use our local money, they track it, they credit us and they’ll give us that money when their money is available,” Treasurer Jason Whitesel told Richland Source in 2023.
Thought the ELPP, Lexington constructed its new junior high and high school facility, which opened in 2022.
OFCC officials notified the district in November that it was ready to release the district’s funds.
Supt. Jeremy Secrist told Richland Source in December he hoped to break ground on the new elementary by the end of 2025.
Secrist could not be reached for comment for this story.