Work winding down on $24 million Warren Hills High expansion project Sunday, December 02, 2007 • By LYNN OLANOFF • The Express-Times WASHINGTON TWP. | Phase one of the $24 million Warren Hills Regional High School expansion and renovation project will be completed this month. Work in the new 48,800-square-foot wing, including a new cafeteria, auxiliary gym and other athletic facilities, is nearly complete. Contractors were laying floors in the hall and striping the gym floor for basketball last week. The school district expects to receive a certificate of occupancy the week before Christmas, Superintendent Peter Merluzzi said. The new wing will be in use when students return in January. The project started in September 2006. About $400,000 in change orders have been added to the $23.7 million construction contract, Merluzzi said. Overall, the project is still under budget. Its original estimate had been $28.6 million. The work is part of a $36.8 million referendum district voters approved in December 2004. The referendum also included work at Warren Hills Regional Middle School. A four-classroom addition and renovation work were completed at that school last December. The money will also cover extensive renovations at the high school. In January, the current auxiliary gym and cafeteria will be turned into 13 classrooms and a larger library. That work is expected to take a year, Merluzzi said. In all, the work will increase the high school's student capacity from 1,130 to 1,548. It's the first major project expansion and renovation project at the 39-year-old high school since 1989. The new 8,736-square-feet cafeteria is almost double the size of the school's current 300-seat facility. The new space can sit 600 people, a size more appropriate for the 1,470-student school, Merluzzi said. In addition to its improved size, the new cafeteria is significantly brighter and has modern features. It has large windows on two sides and contemporary circular lighting. The new cafeteria can be subdivided into two smaller rooms ideal for community meetings, Merluzzi said. The new cafeteria will likely replace the auditorium as the main community meeting place in the school because of its new offerings, including a computer connection, and location, Merluzzi said. One of the expansion's main benefits is having a cafeteria and gym in the back of the school so they can be used at night without having to open the whole school. "When we run an activity now, we don't have to worry about the security of the building," Merluzzi said. The new 8,484-square-feet auxiliary gym is about the same size as the current facility but looks bigger because of lighter-colored floors and brighter lights. The new addition also includes new athletic offices, locker rooms, training room and a wrestling room. "We're going to have larger facilities," Athletic Director Nicholas Holgash said. "We're going to be able to accommodate more athletes." Reporter Lynn Olanoff can be reached at 908-475-8044 or by e-mail at lolanoff@express-times.com.