Centerton Commission Approves Bentonville High School Plan

CENTERTON -- The city's Planning Commission approved plans for Bentonville's West High School at its meeting this week.

Five of the eight commissioners attended Tuesday's meeting. All voted in favor of the high school plans, said Mayor Bill Edwards.

"It went real smooth," Edwards said. "Our staff did a lot of work with the School District prior to (Tuesday's) meeting."

Centerton's Planning Commission has final authority on projects that come before it, so the high school plans don't require City Council's approval.

The school will be built on the west side of Gamble Road, just south of Centerton Gamble Elementary School. The building will be built in an L shape with athletic fields to the north and west of it on a 91-acre site. The school will be about 362,000 square feet with an ideal capacity of 2,250 students.

District officials hope to begin work this summer and open the school in August 2016.

The next step from the city's side is to have a pre-construction meeting with project officials to work out the details, Edwards said.

A traffic study of the area also is expected to be completed within the next few months. The city, School District and Benton County are splitting the cost of the $24,500 study.

The city has committed to spending $1.4 million on road improvements in the area, including the widening of Gamble Road from two to three lanes and the paving of Seba Road, which is just south of the school's property. That road work won't begin until next year, Edwards said.

NW News on 04/24/2014

Upcoming Events