The upcoming Innovation Center in the library is completing phase 1 and phase 2 and should be scheduled to finish in January.
The reason for the setbacks was a delay on materials when the project started.
“The materials were stuck somewhere,” Director of Innovation Lynn Maitz said. “It was just a delay…at first we didn’t think we would be able to do it in a timely manner.”
The school, students, and faculty can see men working on the outside of the building where the library should be. While inside, students can see a cement floor, painted walls, and construction tools laying on the floor, even though this project has been worked on since the beginning of last summer. Students are wondering what it will look like and if it can still be used to work.
“There really isn’t any quiet place at this school where I could work,” junior Sean Gerty said. “I am really excited for it because I can actually start doing my homework during school and not get distracted, and I’m not sure if it’s actually going to be a quiet place so hopefully they [the students] will treat it like one.”
There are three phases to the project phase 1 and 2 are being completed. Phase 1 is building and bringing new features into the space such as a cafe, a global education classroom, a casual open seating area, and a staircase to exit out of the back of the library. Phase 2 will have four study rooms, a virtual reality room, and another space for teachers to come into the Hub with their class to teach, thanks to donations made by alumni. Both phases will be completed in December, but will open use for students in January. Phase 3 will be challenging to implement but the idea is an outside upper deck which will be completed later.
“I am excited to see the new library when it’s completed and use that space again,” junior Clay Kruse said. “I’m interested in seeing how I can use that space to help me in my classes.”