The doors are shuttering for good at the old Midvale Middle, which has welcomed students into its corridors and classrooms for six decades. While the end has come for the two-story, red-bricked building on Pioneer Street, a recent groundbreaking party celebrated the start of work on a new 203,000-square-foot school that is scheduled to open at the start of the 2017 school year.
Some 150 students, teachers, administrators, and neighbors attended the Thursay, June 11, 2015 ceremony hosted by Canyons Board of Education member Robert Green, who represents schools in the Midvale area. Green, alongside fellow Board members Nancy Tingey and Amber Shill, Superintendent Jim Briscoe, Assistant Superintendent Kathryn McCarrie, Midvale Mayor Joann Seghini, and Utah Rep. Bruce Cutler, R-Murray, among others, participated in the ceremonial turning of the dirt.
A photo album of the groundbreaking ceremony is on the Canyons District Facebook page.
At the event, Green said that the designs for the new school call for a 650-seat auditorium, collaboration spaces, a gym and fitness area, indoor and outdoor student commons areas, and classrooms built for the high-tech demands of the 21st century. “So many people have such great memories of going to school here. My own wife went to Midvale Middle, and she learned to swim in the pool here, and many of my neighbors have great stories about the friends they made and the lessons they learned in these classrooms and hallways,” Green said.
“From the outside, this building may not appear to be more than brick and mortar.But this building is so much more than that. It represents six decades of education in our city. It’s an important part of our history and the traditions of our residents,” he said. “Kids in our neighborhoods can’t wait to leave the fifth-grade so they can follow in the footsteps of their brothers, sisters, cousins, friends, and in some cases their moms and dads, to start going to school at Midvale Middle School.”
Demolition at the site begins this summer. A community Open House on Friday, May 29, 2015 drew hundreds of former students and teachers who wanted to visit their old haunt, take pictures, and reminisce.
While crews work on the new Midvale Middle, students and teachers will be housed in the old Crescent View Middle, 11150 S. 300 East. They will be welcomed in the new home of the Trojans by new Principal Wendy Dau and Assistant Principals Karen Moore, Kerry Schroeppel and Kip Carlsen.
“It’s exciting to think that in a few years, we’ll be in our new school. Right after the Board of Education voted on a timeline of construction for our new school, our teachers, parents, students and other members of the community met with some of the architects from VCBO,” Dau said. “The architects truly focused on what’s really important: Our students and teachers. From day one, the focus of the design has been about creating the best learning environment for our students and a great work environment for our hard-working teachers.”
The new school, which is being built by Hughes General Contractors, is funded with proceeds from a $250 million bond approved by voters in spring 2010. Since its founding in 2009, Canyons District has completed the following bond-funded projects: Corner Canyon High; Midvale Elementary; Albion, Butler, and Draper Park middle schools; academic wings at Brighton and Hillcrest high schools; a new entrance and renovated classrooms at Alta High; and seismic renovations at Sandy Elementary. The newly rebuilt Mount Jordan Middle opens this fall, and work on a new Butler Elementary started this month.
