WORTHINGTON — The sound of heavy equipment can be heard across the now open space at the site of Trojan Field. Construction season for Independent School District 518 is here and many projects are underway, including the renovation of Trojan field, the second story addition to Worthington High School, surfacing parking lots and more.
Demolition of old structures including the field house, bleachers and concession stand at Trojan Field began in the spring. Currently, the site of Trojan Field is an open space filled with sand, rock and dirt. These fill materials are being used to create the surface that will be home to a new turf field once the renovation is complete. Before the turf goes down, new bleachers and a scoreboard will be installed in the month of June. The process of installing cement footings for the bleachers (both home and visitor sides) began this week.
Once complete, the Trojan Field renovation will include a new scoreboard, bleachers, concession stand and field house in addition to the turf field and encircling nine-lane track. Trojan Field will continue to be a resource not only for District 518, but for the surrounding community as it is utilized for Minnesota West Community and Technical College sporting events and local YMCA programs.
The renovation of Trojan Field was supported by a $1,000,000 donation from Sanford Health. This partnership also includes athletic training opportunities for ISD 518 students. The renovation project is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2020.
Across Marine Avenue from Trojan Field, another important project has begun; the second-story addition on Worthington High School is underway. This addition will include seven new classroom spaces to be utilized upon completion in the 2020-2021 school year. This project will allow for more space within the high school for students and staff and relieve some of the issues that have arisen with the growing enrollment in District 518.
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Preparation work including material delivery and site preparation have been taking place for the addition over the past month with construction of the addition beginning soon. Please respect the space needed to complete this project and avoid the Worthington High School student parking lot located on the north side of the building. If needing to enter the high school due to a prearranged appointment, please use the main entrance from Clary Street on the south side of the building.
Along with many smaller projects across the district that are regularly scheduled maintenance and upkeep of facilities, a large parking lot project is set to begin in June. The parking lot that services the baseball diamonds and tennis courts located on the Worthington Middle School property is set to begin being surfaced in June.
Finally, the largest project being undertaken by the school district is moving forward in the planning and design phase. The construction of a three-grade intermediate school on the Crailsheim site will be addressed by a representative of ICS Consulting at the June 16 school board meeting. This meeting will be held via video call due to COVID-19 gathering guidelines. The project is on schedule with the planning and design phase nearing completion.
Parker Sandhurst is District 518's communications coordinator.
