Much of the preliminary legwork is being completed for the first stage in the new facilities project at Tallassee High School.
Designs for the fine arts center are being prepared. The vacation of Preer Street has been approved by the Tallassee city council.
"We've rehashed the plans and tweaked the designs for the fine arts center. We've pretty much got it the way everyone wants it," Tallassee City Schools superintendent Wade Shipman said. "Everything is subject to approval. If things fall into place, we could be breaking ground for some of the site work around January.
"There's a lot of site work that can go on where the street is not involved. We can keep the street open as long as we can. We'll be doing site work for as long as we can before we break ground on the building."
Shipman said he expects to start accepting bids for work on the fine arts center near Spring Break.
"So far, everything seems to be falling into place. I'm encouraged that we can stick to that time schedule. If we can, that puts on a time schedule so we can actually open the doors on the fine arts center at the beginning of the 2020-21 school year."
--Michael Butler, WTLS Radio