Every day during school hours, the former natatorium entrance is the site of major construction and development. However, there are still questions about this construction. Assistant Principal Jake Short has the answers.

What is the construction going on at CG?

“We are currently building what we call the Academic Pavilion. It is going to have 18 classrooms. It will have a new eating space, so that we can revoke the tables from the Hall of Excellence so we can restore that place back to its original intent.” 

Why is CG building the Academic Pavilion?

The reason behind the expansion of classrooms and new cafeteria is the growing student population. As of 2024, Center Grove has a student population of around 2,754, which has led to this decision.

“We are building it currently because we anticipate our student population to continue growing. In the last 10 years or so, we have grown by 600 students,” Short said. “So as we continue to get bigger, if you drive over anywhere where Center Grove students [live], you see houses being built and neighborhoods [as well], and as those neighborhoods continue to grow, more kids will continue to come in, [and as] young families who have kids move in, we will need to have appropriate space here.”

What are the advantages of this construction?

“There are a lot of schools our size. One of the advantages of having a large school is the programming we can offer. As we continue, a lot of times we will have classes that a smaller school won’t necessarily have. Actually, [on January 24th],  we interviewed for our JROTC program that is going to be starting next school year. And in order to host them we need to have two classrooms that offer storage space. So this will just provide the additional space that we need as we continue to grow programs and student population. We were granted a chapter of the JROTC program that will start in the fall of 2024,” Short said. “Temporarily they will not operate out there because the construction won’t be done until the spring of 2025.”

When will the construction be finished?

“The building is projected currently to be done probably late spring of 2025,” Short said. “We will probably not fully utilize that space until the fall of 2025, so the 2025-2026 school year. What causes people to think it’s delayed is the steel takes a long time to produce. And once it gets here they do it pretty quick, so from the time it started going up to now it was pretty quick”

How is the building affecting students?

“In the beginning of the school year there were cranes that were carrying a lot of heavy steel,” Short said. “That steel–when they were moving it–was on top of the building, so we had to move classrooms because if it fell, it would have crushed the roof. It was a safety concern there, but once they were done moving then we told teachers they could go back in since the steel was no longer on the top.”

Classes on the south side of the building have been affected by the construction.

Short said, the programs and teachers affected include, “The Simon Youth Academy, Mrs. Fruit’s room, Mr. Smith a little bit–that whole hallway up there will hear the equipment moving, and the equipment vibrates,”Short said. “And on Friday there was a cinder block wall that they were trying to come through. When they did it, they were going to risk that it would come through the window, so what we did was we had them pause their drilling, and they could come back when the students weren’t here, since it would be a disturbance to the classroom, so we had them hold off so they could either do it on Presidents’ Day or or any time after that.”

Even though some Center Grove classes are affected by this construction, the construction has benefits.

“People want to come here,” Short said. “Because of the programs we have and the programs that continue to grow. People want to be a part of that.”