
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 15, 1995                   TAG: 9504170038
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KIMBERLY N. MARTIN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ASBESTOS REMOVAL, RENOVATIONS TO START AT CARVER SCHOOL

After about eight years of planning, negotiating, and more planning, Salem schools will begin the first phase of an estimated $6.2 million renovation of G.W. Carver Elementary School on Monday.

Crews got ready for the projwect Friday by removing furniture and equipment from the section of the building where work will begin. But the hard part - clearing out asbestos-containing materials - won't start until next week, during Salem's spring break.

Tiles from some first-floor classrooms and hallways must go, as well as about 800 square feet of ceiling plaster, said Michael Bryant, assistant superintendent of Salem schools. The asbestos must be removed before that part of the building can be demolished in June.

"If we don't do it now, then it'll hold us up this summer," Bryant said.

The portion to be destroyed covers everything behind the school gym, including several classrooms, the cafeteria and kitchen, which were added in 1957, 1962 and 1966.

The next phase of construction will include building an addition. During construction, students will attend classes in the original 1939 structure, which will be preserved, and in temporary trailer classrooms.

Kinsey Shane & Associates, who designed the new Salem baseball stadium, is the architect for the renovation. Construction bidding will begin in early May, and Bryant hopes the School Board will select a contractor by late May.

Construction is expected to take about 11/2 years, with a scheduled January 1997 completion date.

by CNB