CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Drivers have noticed lots of activity along Staples Street at Hamlin Middle School as work has begun on the brand-new campus.
Construction and move-in is expected to take around two years to complete.
Corpus Christi Independent School District Police Chief Kirby Warnke said one of the primary reasons for rebuilding Hamlin was security.
"If one of the two doors had been locked at Uvalde, we wouldn't be talking about Uvalde," he said. "So our mission is to keep everybody safe. The built-in environment allows us to do that more efficiently."
Warnke said it's CCISD's last open-wing campus to be replaced within the district.
"We've replaced Cunningham, we've replaced Baker, and now we're going to replace Hamlin," he said. "So all three of those schools were built on the exact same design. If you want to come into the building, you have to come in through the front and that's in the vestibule. So the vestibule is secure. You can't get past that point without our permission. And all of the vestibules are made of impact-resistant glass, so you can't smash through them."
Hamlin Middle School Principal Bridget Lamoureux said that work officially began a couple of weeks ago.
"They took out the football field, the tennis courts and we're kind of just flipping the school so the front of the school will be on the Staples side," she said.
The work is part of the $220 million bond passed in 2022 that will replace the nearly 70-year-old campus. Lamoureux said she is excited to see the upgrades the new campus will bring to students and staff.
"We're finally getting state-of-the-art facilities," she said. "We'll have two gyms for the first time. We've always had one. We'll have A/C in our hallways."
Some portable classrooms will be brought in during construction, and once completed, the new campus will hold 750 students. An official ground breaking takes place Wednesday.
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