By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

CHELSEA – After unexpected delays the last few months, a large-scale renovation project at Chelsea Middle School is expected to wrap up in mid-October.

CHMS Principal Andrew Gunn said Oct. 15 is the current target completion date for the project, which previously was on track to be finished by the start of the new school year in August.

“It’s just been one delay after another,” Gunn said on Sept. 28. “It’s primarily our original plan. It’s just taking a little longer than we thought.”

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

The gym will feature a new floor, new bleachers and more locker room space.

New hallways will help with the movement of students between different parts of the building.

Construction began in January. Renovations are aimed at improving the facility and better accommodating the school’s student body, which as grown from about 300 to nearly 1,000 students over the last several years.