Work at Lido Complex nears completion

After three years of construction, the Long Beach School District’s face-lift is more than halfway complete.

School officials presented an overview of work currently underway at Lido Elementary School and Long Beach Middle School at the July 24 Board of Education meeting, where they discussed details of construction work that began last year.

The infrastructure upgrades and renova- tions at the Lido complex — which includes the elementary school and middle school — are part of a district-wide, $92.7 million school preservation plan funded by a bond approved by voters in 2009.

The preservation plan is meant to address the district’s aging infrastructure. The work at the 189,000 square-foot Lido complex — the third of a four-phase project — is expected to be completed in September and will include substantial infrastructure upgrades ranging from roof replacements and technology upgrades to façade and building renovations.

The project’s fourth and final phase at the high school is expected to be completed in October 2012, and includes an addition to the building for special education classrooms, a new media and T.V. studio and music-practice rooms. “It’s a lot of work and a lot of people are

working really hard to get as much done as possible,” said Michael DeVito, the district’s chief operating officer. “When it’s all done, the community is really going to enjoy its new facilities and we’re all excited for when it’s all finished.”

Thomas Ritzenthaler, executive principal of CSArch, an architecture, engineering and construction management firm, said that the third phase of the project is expected be com- pleted by the start of the school year in September.

Among the many renovations: The ele- mentary school work includes the construction of a classroom addition and Pre-K center, to accommodate increased enrollment and relocated students from the Blackheath location, that will be torn down for new ath- letic fields at the high school.