Construction Begins at Champlin Park High School
Champlin Park High School has officially started a major expansion. These renovations have been in the works for a long time. Residents in the Anoka-Hennepin school district voted for them last November, as part of the district’s so-called “Fit for the Future” referendum.
School officials celebrated the beginning of construction Monday night with a groundbreaking ceremony. The high school will add classrooms to replace the 12 portable classrooms the school has had for more than 20 years. District officials say this will create a safer environment for students.
“At Champlin Park, when you go out to the portable class rooms the front doors have to be left open all day,” says Chuck Holden, the COO of Anoka-Hennepin school district. “Being able to secure the building and having a permanent structure is much safer.”
In addition to new classrooms, there will also be an expansion of the cafeteria and the field house and fitness area.
Water Controversy
Several members of the Brooklyn Park city council were concerned about the expansion. Currently, Champlin Park High School receives its water from Champlin and not Brooklyn Park. Why city council members are concerned is because the school is located inside Brooklyn Park city limits. School officials say that will change with construction.
“We have been getting our services from Champlin because initially they had the service in this area and Brooklyn Park did not,” added Holden. “We made an agreement that as soon as it was available we would make that conversion. So, that’s not a problem for us.”
What are the Plans?
Construction on Champlin Park High School is expected to be done by 2020. The high school is included in phase one of a two-phase project the district is implementing. Champlin-Brooklyn Park Academy and Jackson Middle School are a part of phase 2 and are expected to be completed by 2021.
For more information about the expansion click here. If you would like to see the concept plans those can be found here.
Champlin Park High School
