Groundbreaking ceremony planned for new Grier campus

Gaston County Schools will conduct a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, October 3 at 4:30 p.m. for the new W.P. Grier Middle School campus.
 
The ceremony will be held at the existing W.P. Grier Middle School, 1622 East Garrison Blvd., Gastonia, in a location that is adjacent to the construction site.  Overflow parking is available at First Presbyterian Church, 1621 East Garrison Blvd., Gastonia, (across the road from the school); a bus shuttle will be available from the church parking lot to the groundbreaking ceremony.    
 
In the event of rain/inclement weather, the ceremony will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 5.  If postponement becomes necessary, it will be announced on the Gaston County Schools website and Facebook page by 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
 
■ About the new school campus
The new W.P. Grier Middle School will be located on the same 25 acres of land along East Garrison Boulevard in Gastonia where the existing school sits.  Construction will happen in two phases – the 155,000 square-foot school will be built first on land that was used previously for the football field and then the old building will be demolished to make space for a new sports complex.  Once the school opens in 2025, it will take another year to build the football, softball, and baseball fields.
 
The new, two-story school will house 1,000 students with the ability to accommodate as many as 1,200.  It will include more than 40 contemporary classrooms; various instructional, office, and conference spaces; a multi-use media center and library; a large cafeteria and multipurpose room; and a modern gymnasium, which will be located behind the main building.  The site plan includes more space for parking and additional entrances to improve on-campus traffic flow.
 
The cost to build the new Grier campus is estimated at $50-$60 million, a price that is higher than previous middle school construction projects because of inflation.  School bonds, which were approved by voters in May 2018, will be used to pay for the new school.  Building on the existing campus saves taxpayer funds because no land had to be purchased.
 
Beam Construction Company is building the new school, and LS3P Associates is the architect.  LS3P Associates also designed the new Stanley Middle School, which opened in March 2018, and the new Belmont Middle School, which opened in August 2021.  The new W.P. Grier Middle School is similar in design to both Belmont Middle School and Stanley Middle School.  Beam Construction also built the new Belmont Middle School and the new Pleasant Ridge Elementary School in Gastonia, which opened in August 2017.
 
The school is named for W.P. Grier, who was superintendent of the Gastonia City Schools for 20 years (1921-1941).  Grier opened in 1956 and originally served as a school for grades 1-9; it became a junior high school when the elementary grades were moved to Sherwood Elementary School when it opened in 1969.  In the mid-1980s, a building with a gymnasium, office space, and music classrooms was added to the front of the school.  Grier became a middle school for grades 6-8 in 1997, and it currently serves approximately 600 students.