Cornelius Elementary School (2025)

Construction will take place from spring 2024 through summer 2025 on a new school building and parking lots at the north side of the campus, and play areas and field at the southeast corner. For your safety, please stay out of fenced construction zones.

In the sections below, you may access Pence's live camera views of the construction site, view the architect's renderings in the design gallery, as well as obtain regular project updates.

Design Gallery

Campus aerial view / vista aérea del campus

Main entry plaza / plaza de entrada principal

Family resources center — Family resource center / centro de recursos familiares

laying electrical conduit for parking lot light poles — July 23: electrical conduit is laid to supply light poles for the parking lots

aerial view of drainage fabric and gravel in the parking lots — Drainage fabric and gravel are applied to the parking lots

masons laying brick at front entrance — Brick is being laid at the front entrance

view of nearly-finished front entrance from the commons — The view of the front entrance from the commons

sinks and dishwashing equipment in kitchen — Sinks and dishwashing equipment have been installed in the kitchen

nearly-complete pre-K playground — The pre-K playground is nearly complete

outdoor classroom concrete finishes — Concrete defines spaces for the outdoor classroom area

library cleared for floor finishing — The library is being cleared to finish the floor

July 17, 2025

aerial view of parking lot excavation — July 17: excavation has begun for the parking lots

aerial view of canopy roofing installation — Crew members add roofing material to the entrance canopy

bricklaying along wall under covered play canopy — Masons apply brick to the wall under the covered play canopy

installing gym floor — The gym floor is being installed

installing insulation on overhead water pipes — Insulation covers up pipes near the entrance

installing security cabling at front entrance — Security cabling is wired through the entrance doorway

view of lobby ceiling grid and globular lighting — Lighting and ceiling grid provide a dramatic flair to the lobby area

paneling along grand staircase — Paneling is applied along the grand staircase

kitchen equipment ready to be installed — Kitchen equipment awaits installation

installing wiring in fire safety panel — A crew member installs wiring in a fire safety panel

pre-k play structure nears completion — The pre-K play structure is nearly complete

July 8, 2025

aerial view of old school building site — July 8 - old building site is nearly cleared

Finishing touches in gym — Color is brought into the gym with acoustic tile covering and wall pads

Ceiling grid and patio doors in commons — The ceiling grid is nearly complete in the commons, patio doors have been added

Framing at front entrance — Front entrance framing works around myriad pipes and conduit

Gym hallway sheetrocking — Sheetrocking is underway in the hallway to the gym

Crews suspend guy wires from ceiling — Crew members install guy wires from the ceiling of the reception area to suspend ducts, pipes, lighting, etc.

Construction continues in southeast classroom — Crews continue construction in the southeast classroom wing

July 2, 2025

aerial view of new building construction — July 2 - roofing is completed over the awnings for the entrance and covered play

aerial view of demolished old school building — The old building has been completely torn down; only foundation remains

aerial view of pre-K playground construction — Installation of equipment begins in the pre-K play area

Sorting through pieces of play equipment — A crew member sorts through the pieces of play equipment

framing underway for entrance and gym hallway — Framing is underway for the entrance and gym hallway

underside view of covered play awning — The underside of the covered play awning

large fans installed in the gym ceiling — Large fans have been installed in the gym ceiling

completed library ceiling — The ceiling in the library is completed

ceiling installation in commons/cafeteria — The ceiling grid theme continues in the commons; skylights bring sunshine into the space

installing security measures in doorway — Security measures are being installed in each doorway

June 25-26, 2025: Demolition of Old Building Begins

June 25-26, 2025 - Construction Highlights

aerial view of concrete forms for pre-K play area — Concrete has been laid to form the pre-K play area

installation of awnings at entrance and covered play — The awnings for the front entrance and covered play are constructed

installation of beam for covered play structure — Crew members add a beam to the covered play structure

adding roofing to entrance awning — The following day, the roofing is being cut and installed

acoustic tile pattern templates on gym wall — Crews start adding the pattern templates for the acoustic tiles on the gym walls

reception area construction — Work continues to construct the reception area

finalizing elevator installation — Installation of the elevator is being finalized

ceiling grid installed in family resource center — The ceiling grid is fully installed in the family resource center

ceiling grid installation in library — The same grid is being installed in the library

June 19, 2025 - Construction Progress

May 31, 2025 - Open House

The community said its final goodbyes to the existing Cornelius Elementary School with a celebration and open house on May 31, 2025. Over 100 guests were able to chat with fellow alumni, share their memories of the school, and view yearbooks over the decades. Principal Angella Graves led the final tour of the school, highlighting where additions were made over time and other key historical notes.

The current school was built in 1945. However, it's just one of others built across the decades to educate Cornelius schoolchildren as the community continues to grow from its agricultural roots. Here are some historical photos of those times (credits: Cornelius Public LIbrary, Cornelius Historical Sociaty):

May 28, 2025 - Construction Progress

May 7, 2025 - Construction Progress

March 7, 2025 - FGHS Viking House students visit site