The demolition of part of the old Bluff Park School campus was officially deemed complete this past Friday, and contractors hope to begin renovation work next week on the original building that was preserved, a Hoover school official said Wednesday.
Complete Demolition tore down an old lunchroom and kitchen, a four-classroom addition on the left side of the main entrance, a two-story addition to the right of the main entrance that included the old library that for many years housed the records of the Hoover Historical Society, and a L-shaped group of classrooms in the back of campus.
The buildings were in poor condition and were not up to current city codes and would have cost too much to renovate, school officials determined.
Demolition work started in the fall and took a little longer than anticipated, but the end product looks good, said Matt Wilson, director of operations for the Hoover school system.
“The overall site is very attractive now,” Wilson said.
The building that remains is the oldest part of the school — built in the 1920s — and has two classrooms and two rooms most recently used as offices.
The school board in December hired Battle Miller Construction to perform a $1,012,800 renovation of that building, converting the facility for use by the school system’s student services personnel, who now are housed at Brock’s Gap Intermediate School.
Battle Miller Construction plans to erect construction fencing around the building this week and begin renovations next week, Wilson said. The work is expected to take about six months with completion targeted for late August, he said.
The Hoover school board also is contemplating adding 8-10 classrooms at the new Bluff Park Elementary School, which opened next door in 1993. That school is nearing capacity.
Such an addition is expected to cost roughly $4 million to $4.5 million, but no architect has been selected, Wilson said.
School officials had plans drawn up for an addition several years ago, but that design included relocating the school entrance so that it would face Park Avenue rather than the school driveway. School officials now are talking about leaving the entrance and main office where they are now, which would mean the scope of the addition would be less than previously designed, Wilson said.
The school board has taken no official action regarding approval for an addition.