Building Expansion Expected To Be Done by Late Winter

In 2015, it was announced that a massive new expansion to Central High School would be happening on the east side of the building. The expansion was going include a new state-of-the-art library, as well as music and rehearsal rooms. Last summer, the estimated $20,000,000 project began. It is expected to be ready to open its doors later this school year. 

Principal Ed Bennett is pleased with the progress being made. “I am pleased with how easy it has been to work with the construction workers from Samson Construction,” he said. “I like the way the construction firm has been very welcoming and open anytime we wanted to tour the building. They have made it possible, and they have shown us exactly where things are going to go, and what it’s going to look like. They have been accurate with their time schedules, and overall they have been great to work with.” He also credits the district for coming in and providing “guidance and support on how it will eventually connect to the existing building.” 

When the ambitious project was first announced, it was originally scheduled to be done by the end of first semester this year. Bennett said, “now it has been moved back to Feb. 7.” He blamed the delay because, “we had very rainy summer, we had a cold and late spring, so there had just been a lot of days where they (the construction company) literally just could not work, and there is nothing you can do about that.” 

When the expansion opens, Bennett is excited about the prospect of “walking into a brand-new facility connected to the oldest high school in Nebraska” He says Central, “will have the oldest and the newest facilities in the state.” He also believes most students will the enjoy the library, “because every student will at some point be in the library, some students may be singing or playing the band, but every student will hopefully get in the library and be able to look out onto downtown Omaha in a beautiful library.”