TEXARKANA, Texas -- Monday was a day of asbestos abatement and debris removal at the former Pine Street school building as Texarkana Independent School District moves forward with plans to clear the site and construct a new elementary.
The project is part of the $189 million bond package voters passed in November 2022.
Hart Construction and Gill Industries Ltd. are completing the early stages of the project toward the building of a campus that will eventually replace Highland Park and Spring Lake Park elementary schools.
The hydraulic claw of a Hart Construction excavator rests on the ground at the former Pine Street campus during demolition Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, in Texarkana, Texas. Texarkana Independent School District repurchased the property from Dallas-based Old School Lofts Joint Ventures in summer 2022 for $585,000. In the November 2022 election, district voters approved a $189 million bond that includes money to raze the buildings on the historic campus and construct a school to replace Highland Park and Spring Lake Park elementary schools. Asbestos abatement by Gill Industries Ltd. of Louisiana is ongoing. (Staff photo by Stevon Gamble)
A Hart Construction excavator clears debris from a slab during demolition Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, at the former Pine Street school in Texarkana, Texas. (Staff photo by Stevon Gamble)
Pages from textbooks and other debris line a paint-peeled stairwell in a shuttered building at Texarkana Independent School District's former Pine Street campus Monday, Feb. 13, 2023. The school closed in 1996. TISD repurchased the property in July 2022, with plans to construct a school to replace Highland Park and Spring Lake Park elementary schools. (Staff photo by Stevon Gamble)
Saplings, grass and debris from the collapsed roof litter the space once filled by seating inside the auditorium at the former Pine Street school campus Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, in Texarkana, Texas. Demolition continues at the campus as Texarkana Independent School District prepares to construct an elementary school. The project is part of the $189 million bond voters passed in November 2022. (Staff photo by Stevon Gamble)