North Ridgeville board gets construction update on new high school; groundbreaking set for Aug. 15

The North Ridgeville City Schools Board of Education on July 15 received an update on the district's new high school design and construction schedule, including early site work already under way and plans to start building the main high school in spring 2026.

Design and contractor teams said the district is in early site development for the new high school and is constructing a transportation and maintenance center whose foundations are nearly complete. "We are in the throes of that now," a project representative said of early site work. The contractor projected the new high school construction will begin next spring, target completion for summer 2028, then be followed by demolition of the existing high school.

The presentation explained why the project is being built: to address safety and capacity issues at the current high school and to provide new instructional and shared spaces. The teams described ongoing design activities — including furniture trials with staff and students and regular design-team coordination — and showed a 3‑D animation of the completed campus. The district plans to post the animation on its construction website and to hold a back-to-school event and groundbreaking on Aug. 15, 2025.

Project details presented to the board included: early site earthwork and utility work, new western parking lots (the presenters said base-course asphalt was paved the day of the meeting and a final course was planned in the following days), a temporary stone lot available for the fall semester, and an anticipated daily construction workforce of about 100–120 people once major construction ramps up. The transportation and maintenance center will include bus parking, a wash bay, office and locker space, and a high-bay maintenance area; presenters said steel erection for that building would begin soon and a turnover was expected early next year.

The team also described the campus layout shown in the animation: academic cores along Bainbridge, a music and performing arts center, athletic and pool spaces near the stadium, and a main entry serving the new building. The presenters said they had brought four students (a ninth-grader, a 10th-grader, an incoming 12th-grader and a graduating senior) to view the animation and included short student reactions in the video. One student in the clip commented, "This is massive compared to the old school." Board members and the superintendent thanked the teams and asked that the district continue to share progress updates with the community.

No formal board action on the project took place during the presentation; the update served as information and community outreach planning. The district said it will continue design coordination through November, complete early site work through fall and winter, start building the new high school in spring 2026, and keep the community informed via the construction website and future events.