Revamped facilities in some local schools coming this fall

CEDAR RAPIDS — With students on summer break, the cubbyholes in Prairie View Elementary usually stuffed with backpacks and lunchboxes are instead temporarily filled with hand soap dispensers, stacks of bathroom mirrors and shiny trash bins.

The materials are being used to remodel one of the 1970s-era school's bathrooms.

Principal Mike Hansen said instead of rickety sinks, doors that sometimes came unhinged and faded yellow tiles, the prekindergarten through fourth-grade students at Prairie View, 401 76th Ave. SW, are getting new, automated sinks and state-of-the-art facilities by the time they return to class in August.

'Shiny and new is always exciting,' Hansen said. ' ... It was needed for sure, and I think it'll be better for kids.'

Prairie View's bathroom remodel is just one of many projects underway at area schools during the summer months.

While work begins or continues on brand-new schools throughout the Corridor — including Iowa City's Liberty High and Hoover Elementary, Marion Independent's Longfellow Elementary and a new middle school in Solon — dozens of existing schools are being spruced up or maintained.

From parking lot repairs to brand-new auditorium space, here's a roundup of some of this summer's school renovations:

College Community

— Prairie View Elementary: Restroom remodel

— Prairie Crest Elementary: Restroom remodel, carpet replacement in 13 classrooms and the library

— Prairie Creek Intermediate: Installation of intruder locks on all classrooms

— Prairie Heights Elementary: Repair of concrete coping to exterior of library

— Phase 2 of roadway project: Repairs to the district's south perimeter road, from Ridge Elementary to Kirkwood Boulevard.

Solon

— Solon High: New 800-seat auditorium with orchestra pit, art room and additional classrooms

Cedar Rapids

— Taft Middle and Kennedy High: Gym bleacher replacements

— Taylor Elementary: Exterior door and window replacement

— Arthur, Kenwood and Wright elementaries; Harding Middle and Washington High: Parking lot/playground repairs

— Grant, Taylor and Truman elementaries: Dry erase board installation

— Grant, Hoover and Nixon elementaries: Alarm upgrades

— Cleveland, Grant, Hoover and Taylor elementaries and Franklin, McKinley and Wilson middle schools: Lighting upgrades

— Grant Elementary, Wilson Middle: Tile/carpet replacements

— Grant, Johnson and Wright elementaries: Locker replacements

— Garfield, Grant and Hoover elementaries: Restroom upgrades

— Erskine, Harrison, Madison and Wright elementaries: Roof replacement

Iowa City

— Coralville Central and Lucas elementaries: Geothermal system

— Weber Elementary: Classroom and gymnasium additions, geothermal system

— West High School: Eight new tennis courts, to be completed in 2017

Linn-Mar

— Linn-Mar High: Theater lighting and ceiling repairs, kitchen remodel

— Oak Ridge Middle: Cafe addition

— Westfield Elementary: Classroom addition

— Indian Creek Elementary: Flooring/tile repairs, gym windows

— Novak Elementary: Preschool playground expansion