Towne Acres remains on budget despite six-month delay

The six-month delay in opening the new Towne Acres Elementary School will not increase construction costs, but it will push back other project milestones, including demolition of the existing school, according to Johnson City Building Services Director Brian Ross. The new school is now expected to welcome students in January 2028, rather than August 2027, after unusually cold winter weather and heavy rainfall slowed construction. Ross said the original schedule called for construction to finish in June 2027, leaving July for school officials to furnish and equip the building before the start of the academic year. "That was an ambitious schedule and really did not allow for much weather delay at all," Ross said. "We've just decided as a project team to accept the new reality of that." Construction is now expected to wrap up in September or early October 2027, allowing the district the remainder of the semester to prepare classrooms, food service operations and the media center before students and staff move in over winter break. Demolition of the existing school will also be postponed until January 2028, after students and staff have fully vacated the building. Despite the revised timeline, Ross said the project remains on budget. "There are three main measures of a successful project, and that's cost, quality and time," Ross said. "Time is the one that we probably have the least control over." "This has not at all affected our cost on the project," he added. "We're in very good shape in terms of the quality of the structure, integrity of the building and our projected budget for the project." Construction crews are currently completing concrete slabs and block walls while preparing to install the roof structure. Ross said roofing materials are expected to be installed later this month, marking a significant step toward protecting the building from further weather-related disruptions. "We still have windows and doors and things to install, but that's a milestone that's really big in the construction industry," Ross said. "It is getting dried in, so that the rain and other weather conditions have less of an impact on progress." Interior framing is also underway, along with mechanical, electrical and plumbing work. As construction progresses, city officials have proposed holding a topping-out ceremony, a construction tradition marking the placement of a building's final structural beam or highest structural element. Ross praised the contractor for navigating the challenges of building a school in a residential neighborhood while the existing campus remains operational. "There are other things about this project that are a challenge in particular — building a school of this size in the middle of a residential neighborhood, on a very compact site, with an existing school in operation," Ross said. "They've just really done a masterful job of coordinating all those challenges." JA Street and Associates was awarded the construction contract for more than $43 million, with Thomas Weems Architect serving as the project's design consultant. The city broke ground on the new school at 2310 Larkspur Drive on Nov. 4, 2025. The 110,000-square-foot facility will replace three existing school buildings, the oldest of which is nearly 60 years old, and accommodate up to 750 students and staff. The project is being financed through general obligation bonds and supported by a 15-cent property tax increase designated for the new school in fiscal year 2024.