Community invited to open house at McClain Street facility

By Angela Shepherd
GEVS

In March of 2023, a ground-breaking ceremony marked the official beginning of the development of the practice field site that would benefit not only students, but the district and the community.

Today, that project is nearly completed, and on Monday Oct. 21, the community is invited to attend an open house at 750 McClain Ave. where tours will be offered, and refreshments, too. 

The open house begins at 5:30 p.m. and goes until 7 p.m., at which point the scheduled regular meeting of the Greenfield Exempted Village School District will commence. A special presentation highlighting Elford, the general contractor of the project, and McCarty Associates, the architecture firm that designed the project, will occur during the school board meeting. 

The multi-purpose facility at the practice field will be home to the transportation and maintenance departments. It will also support the athletics and band programs, the latter of which will now have water and restroom access right there on site, something that they have not had in the years and years the football team and marching band have used the practice field. 

The new facility will also allow for much-needed storage space. The project also provides improved field conditions, renovated basketball courts, sidewalks, and parking spaces. 

The day after the open house, superintendent Quincey Gray said, the transportation department will begin moving into the new facility. The plan is for transportation to be fully moved in and operating out of the McClain Street complex by early November. The maintenance department will move into the facility following that.

According to Gray, the old bus garage will be converted to an athletic facility to better serve athletics needs. So, once the transportation department is moved out of the old bus garage, a thorough cleaning will begin there and then the alterations will be done that are needed to prepare the facility for use by the athletic department. The building will still house the locker room, but will also be used for wrestling and strength training. 

Gray said tech-related items as well as items no longer needed by the transportation and maintenance departments will go up for auction online in the near future. Stay tuned for more information on that. 

“Like many construction projects, this one was definitely not without challenges,” Gray said. “Elford Inc,  McCarty Associates and a host of subcontractors worked diligently to keep things moving as best as possible, and in the end, we have an outstanding final product. I'd like to recognize them for their hard work and support, as well as, our staff members who contributed to the property design. We are excited to utilize this space to meet the needs of many staff members and students.”

For information and updates, go to the district website at greenfield.k12.oh.us or go to the district’s social media pages. The individual buildings also have Facebook pages. The district’s central office may be reached by calling 937-981-2152.