Onslow Schools tops off new Coastal Elementary Building

ONSLOW COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - Onslow County Schools is one step closer to its brand-new elementary building.

Coastal Elementary in Holly Ridge had its topping-off ceremony Monday. The ceremony marks the end of the vertical stage of construction on the project.

The $30 million building will be built to be hurricane-proof. School officials said after learning some “expensive lessons” from Hurricane Florence, they chose to take additional steps to make the building usable as a hurricane shelter for the next storm.

The roofs will be able to handle winds up to 150 miles-per-hour.

The new building will help with overcrowding, according to school officials. The population of the county has been growing and county officials expect it to continue to grow, especially with the closing of a MARSOC base in California.

“We were out of capacity at several of our schools, so we had to build a school,” said Onslow Schools Chief Operating Officer Steve Myers. “We know that in the past we’ve used schools as hurricane shelters for Onslow County. So, when we did this we figured if we’re going to do this again, let’s do it right.”

About half of the students attending Dixon Elementary School will be redistricted to Coastal Elementary, as decided by the school board in March.

The new building will be finished by June 1, and should be ready for the new school year in August.

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