Huntington Middle School prioritized for June 2026 as city, schools report construction progress on Southeast Community Resource Area

City and school officials updated the Newport News City Council and School Board on construction progress for the Southeast Community Resource Area, which includes the new Huntington Middle School and an attached recreation center. City Director of Engineering Craig Gallant said the contractor received a notice to proceed in June and that substantial completion for the middle school is targeted for June 2026 and for the recreation center in August 2026.

The update matters because the two facilities will be adjacent on a single site and the middle school’s opening is timed to allow the school division months to outfit classrooms and prepare operations before the school year. Gallant said, “The middle school itself is what has priority,” and that the contractor is managing two separate site teams under a single contract to try to meet the staggered completion dates.

Gallant summarized the project scope and immediate issues. The new middle school is roughly 123,000 square feet; the recreation center is about 97,000 square feet. Construction progress is roughly 36–37 percent for both facilities because the contract was issued as a single package with…