Expansion of lower division on schedule

Each of the new classrooms in Notre Dame’s lower division addition will be the same size as its current classrooms, with an additional restroom and entrance/exit included as part of the $1.1 million expansion.

The new 7,200 square-foot expansion of Pontiac Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy’s lower division is proceeding on time and as planned, school officials said today.

Andy Guest, interim president of NDPMA, said the project remains on schedule with an expected completion date in March of 2017.

Since Notre Dame moved the lower division to Pontiac, there has been a 45% increase in enrollment at the Jr.K-5th grade facility, according to school officials.

“The foundations have been poured and the block walls are making good progress,” he said. The electrical and plumbing pipes are also in the process of being installed, and we hope to set the steel trusses overhead on Nov. 14, which is a day off for the school, so that we can begin finishing the roof.”

Notre Dame’s lower division moved in 2013 from its original location Waterford to a new facility on the school’s main campus in Pontiac. Since then, it has experienced substantial growth in enrollment and its 12 classrooms will grow to 18 when construction is completed. The division educates students in junior-kindergarten through grade 5.

The expansion will add a total of six new classrooms, a restroom and a new entrance/exit to the south end of the existing classroom building.

Guest said he hopes to have the building pretty well sealed by the end of the month before winter hits.

“We expect that we will begin to move in and start utilizing the space as soon as it is available.”

Each of the new classrooms will be the same size as the current classrooms and an additional restroom and entrance/exit also are part of the $1.1 million expansion.

The project team for the new classroom addition includes Anderson Eckstein and Westrick, Inc., and Frank Rewold and Son Inc.

Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.

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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy

Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." The Marist Fathers and Brothers sponsor NDPMA's Catholic identity and manages its educational program. Notre Dame is accredited by the National Association of Independent Schools, the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.