By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

CHELSEA – A large-scale renovation project at Chelsea Middle School is on track to be completed by the start of the new school year in August.

“As of right now, it’s still on schedule to be done when school starts Aug. 12,” CHMS Principal Andrew Gunn confirmed in a July 6 interview. “It’s quite an endeavor.”

The more than $1.75 million project includes aesthetic changes to the school’s front entrance, gymnasium updates, additional hallways and new restrooms.

Once completed, the gym will feature a new floor, new bleachers and more locker room space.

New hallways will “help with the flow” of students from different parts of the building, Gunn said.

Construction started in January and will continue on schedule as long as the weather cooperates.

Gunn said the building updates are necessary considering the school’s student body has expanded from 300 students to nearly 1,000 over the last several years.

“We’re growing. (The renovations) are very needed just to help the building accommodate the volume of students,” he said.