DAVENPORT, Iowa — Davenport Central High School is getting a brand new auditorium and swimming pool; the additions are being built onto the south side of the high school. The south facing sides of both the auditorium and pool will be primarily windows looking out over downtown Davenport and the Mississippi river.
Larrison & Associates Architects are in charge of design. Mike Maloney, Director of Operations for Davenport Community Schools says it is the architects' vision that the glass wall of windows will become a prominent feature on the hilltop.
"The architect had envisioned that this lobby might be south facing looking out towards the city and that the views from downtown and up the river would see this glass wall of the auditorium," Maloney said.
The new auditorium will be finished in time for CHS fine arts winter productions. The auditorium is set to be done in October, 2016. It will seat 900 people, and be 55-feet high equivalent to a five-story building.
Over 30 companies in total are involved in the construction project. Several trailers and trucks wrapped in different company names park just inside the fenced-in construction site.
"We have iron workers, electricians, masons, a variety of trades," Maloney said. "On any given day we could have 10, 15 different companies on the job."
The new swimming pool will replace CHS's old four-lane pool. The new one will feature eight 25-yard competition lanes. Opposite the starting blocks, a movable bulkhead will stretch across the pool. On the other side of the bulkhead, a four-lane warm-up/cool-down pool will run perpendicular to the competitive lanes.
"Athletes that are returning next year are really excited about the new pool and a little nostalgic about the old one," Maloney said.
All spectator seating at the pool is located on the second level. Seating will be split between two sections; one facing towards the large wall of windows, across the pool's length and another along the east side of the swimming pool. There is enough seating for 300 spectators.
Construction of the pool and auditorium comes at price tag of just under $22 million. An additional $4.5 million is being spent on renovating the old auditorium and pool, ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) upgrades, and relocating a main entry. The grand total of the project is about $26 million.
Maloney says funding for the project is coming from a statewide penny tax and the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy.