Davidson school continues to expand

Community School of Davidson recently selected Cornelius-based McMillan Construction Management Co. to manage the school’s Phase II renovation and expansion project: a 22,000-square-foot Performing and Visual Arts Wing and 200-seat BlackBox Theatre that will be available to the community.

The public charter high school is at 565 Griffith St.

McMillan Construction is a general contractor owned by Michael McMillan. The company specializes in light commercial additions and renovations and custom residential construction.

The Phase II project will be McMillan Construction’s second contract with Community School of Davidson, which opened its high school in 2010 with 102 ninth-grade students. After growing one new class per year, the school now has a kindergarten-through-11th-grade total enrollment of 1,187 students, with a junior class that will become the school’s first graduating senior class in 2014.

In July, McMillan Construction finished the school’s first major renovation, of 7,000 square feet, which provided language arts and media classrooms, a gymnasium, administrative and guidance counselor offices and a central commons area for community and student body activities.

When complete, the new wing will bring the school’s total square footage to 102,000.

For Phase II, McMillan Construction is converting attached storage warehouse space into a performing and fine arts academic center. The wing will offer study in orchestra, chorus, dance, drama and woodworking, and will include a centralized student commons area for study and various events.

The school’s total renovation project was started by a private anonymous donation and will cost about $1.4 million, said Kevin Green, director of business management and personnel.

A schoolwide fundraising project called the Bright Future Campaign is under way to raise money for interior systems and furnishings – skylights for the study areas, dance studio flooring, theater light and sound systems, and music room furniture, storage systems and instruments.

The school also is offering naming rights to the BlackBox Theatre and various other studios. Already, a baby grand piano has been donated.

McMillan Construction expects the Phase II renovation to be complete by June, a year before the first senior graduation.

Details: www.csdnc.org/highschool.

Mooresville joins study of regional trail

The Mooresville Board of Commissioners unanimously agreed Dec. 17 to pay $1,200 to participate in a preliminary study of a 30-mile bicycle and pedestrian trail from downtown Mooresville to uptown Charlotte.

The section in Mooresville is part of the Carolina Thread Trail and the Lake Norman Bicycle Route and was the highest-priority project in the town’s Comprehensive Bicycle Plan.

Mecklenburg County, Charlotte, Huntersville, Cornelius and Davidson also are part of the trail study. Mecklenburg County will contract with a consultant to develop the plan.

Town OKs industrial park rezoning

The Mooresville Board of Commissioners unanimously agreed Dec. 17 to rezone 477 acres off N.C. 801 to allow for the town’s next industrial park.

Citing noise and traffic concerns, some neighbors have objected to plans for the park. They filed a valid protest petition that required a “super majority” vote of the commissioners for the rezoning to pass.