Construction continues on the long-awaited Tyner Middle High Academy, which will replace the current academic facility and is set to open in January 2025 at a cost of $95 million.
Construction began in February after a groundbreaking ceremony at Tyner Academy’s football field, the site of the new academic facility. Originally slated for a fall 2024 opening, an unexpectedly high project cost caused delays while officials set about filling the financial gap.
Original estimates put the project’s cost at $68 million in November 2021, but the project’s scope and a reassessment of market conditions in February 2022 increased the estimated cost to nearly $78 million.
Project bids in December were even higher, however, due to inflation and the rising costs of construction materials. The Hamilton County school board voted unanimously to accept the bid of $96 million from Christman Co., a Knoxville-based construction company. The board opted for a design with a scaled-back landscape, which brought the cost down to $95 million.