GMC News
GMC construction set to begin
Published March 04, 2009 08:00 am – Construction on Georgia Military College Prep School’s new facility is officially under way following a groundbreaking late last year.
GMC construction set to begin
New facility has completion date of May 2010
Jonathan Jackson
The Union-Recorder
Construction on Georgia Military College Prep School’s new facility is officially under way following a groundbreaking late last year. GMC Prep Principal Col. John Thornton said activity at the construction site has picked up and the beginnings of the project are becoming more evident.
“The construction of the new building has begun with Skansa [general contractor on the project] in the initial stages,” Thornton said. “The main activity is the removal of fill dirt and grading, but within a short period, the community will see more heavy equipment moving in and the beginnings of history being made.”
Georgia Military College Prep School serves grades six through 12. Since its inception, the prep school has been segmented into several of GMC’s buildings on the historic square, which has origins that date back to the city’s founding. The iconic centerpiece of the campus is the historic Georgia state capital building that housed the legislature that voted for the state of Georgia to secede from the union in the events leading up to the Civil War.
The historic campus is busier than ever with high enrollment in the prep school as well as GMC Junior College. Enrollment at the public but independent middle and high school is at maximum capacity and caps at 500.
“We expect to bring in about 82 sixth-graders for next year,” Thornton said. “Applications are already being processed and open house will be held for prospective parents to learn more about our school at the Goldstein Center for Performing Arts. Interest is high and our remaining slots continue to fill.”
This year, GMC Prep will graduate 61 seniors. Thornton said the school will continue to keep the student to teacher ratio low.
To make way for the construction, Vinson Hall and Main Barracks were demolished. A ceremony marking the groundbreaking for the new facility was held last year, at which time several alumni recalled their days of living in the old facilities. GMC president, Maj. Gen. Peter Boylan, operated the first back-hoe and took out part of a corner of Main Barracks amid cheers and applause from staff, civilians, cadets and alumni.
Thornton said that the construction project is set to cost $23 million with $21.5 million coming from state bonds and $1.5 being raised by GMC.
“The completion date is expected to be May of 2010 with occupation beginning in August of 2010 as we welcome the class of 2017 to our GMC family.”
