Jim Maynard the Project Manager for Martin & Cobey Construction Co. announced that construction of the new Athens High School located on U.S. 31 North is now 50 percent complete and within one percentage point of the budget at the Sept. 21 city school board meeting.

Maynard said a wet summer hindered progress, but they have made a lot of headway in the last month.

Executive Director of Athens City Schools Foundation and Chief Informations Officer Chris Hamilton says that the $55 million high school is projected to be complete by October or November of 2018.

The board will have to decide where to house AHS students the first few months of the 2018-19 school year at a future meeting.

“We will have to wait and see how construction proceeds before we can make those decisions,” Hamilton said. “Our goal will be to do what is in the best interest of the students.”

McKee and Associates, a Montgomery-based architectural firm, also unveiled a $11.7 million master plan to improve the district’s current athletic facilities.

The rendering includes four phases and provides for numerous upgrades, including a football stadium renovation that will cost an estimated $4.7 million and essentially make it a brand-new facility. It includes a new field that can be used for both football and soccer, a running track, a two-story press box and “Game Day Plaza” that would centralize game-day amenities such as concessions, ticket booths and restrooms.

Phase 1 would allow for the conversion of the current AHS gymnasium into a wrestling area and a 21,746-square-foot indoor practice area.

Phase 3 includes two new soccer fields at the new AHS sports complex and the renovation of six existing tennis courts.

Seating for the new soccer fields and renovations to the current baseball and softball fields at the future middle school are included in Phase 4.

The athletic improvements are part of the school system’s five-year capital plan, according to Superintendent Trey Holladay, but he said classroom improvements come first in the capital budget.

The 5-year capital plan, which includes $32.7 million in projects, was unanimously approved by the board at Thursday night’s meeting.