07/17/2007 - Knutson Begins Construction on $24 Million Prairie Middle School and 9th Grade Academy
IOWA CITY, IOWA. July 17, 2007, - Knutson Construction Services Midwest announced today that the site work has been completed and actual construction is now underway. The 224,000 square foot school, which will be home to Prairie’s 7th, 8th and 9th graders, was designed by OPN Architects of Cedar Rapids and will include classrooms, laboratories, kitchen, cafeteria, and two gymnasiums. The school will also include a vertical loop geothermal heating/cooling system. The project is located south of 76th Avenue on Kirkwood Blvd. and will be open for the 2009/2010 school year.
Dick Whitehead, superintendent of schools at College Community, states, “We are very excited that we have broken ground on our new 7-9 building (Prairie Point Middle School and 9th Grade Academy). The new school will help alleviate crowding, but more importantly, it will promote smaller group learning experiences that will be more appropriate for the needs of this age group. Community and staff involvement has been an essential part of this process and that input will prove invaluable as the project moves forward.”