By Maggie Glass

Published: Jun. 27, 2024 at 5:34 PM EDT|Updated: 14 hours ago

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Charlottesville City Schools is one step closer to opening up the new middle school that has been years in the making.

On Thursday, June 26, the community gathered to watch the last structural beam go on top of what will be the new gym.

“It symbolizes one step closer to a dream,” Charlottesville City Schools Superintendent Royal Gurley said.

This beam is marked by the signatures of students, staff, and community members.

“It’s the last beam in this process, and then the next phase takes place,” Gurley said.

The next phase includes more banging and buzzing on the backside of the school.

All are part of the process to expand Buford Middle, soon to be Charlottesville Middle.

“We’ve gone through probably dozens of city council members, school board members, a lot of people put a lot of energy and might at one point thought that they would never see this day happen,” Gurley said.

To celebrate this day finally coming, people from all across the community came to witness the topping off for themselves.

“It was a ton of planning, countless meetings, and a lot of money,” Charlottesville Mayor Juandiego Wade said.

Construction is set to be completed by 2026.

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Click here for full news article: Future Charlottesville Middle School celebrates next phase

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