grissom campus

Grissom High School on Bailey Cove Road will soon be converted into a community center. (Paul Gattis/pgattis@al.com)

The city of Huntsville plans to literally chop Grissom High School into two pieces.

And to figure out how best to do it, the city council approved a $290,000 architectural contract that will determine the best way to do what is, by all accounts, a complicated project.

With the new Grissom High School scheduled to open in August, the campus left behind on Bailey Cove Road must undergo a transformation before it can serve as what's anticipated to be a buzzing community center.

It will include a stand-alone library branch, the auditorium will be preserved for use by Arts Huntsville in conjunction with the city and the two gyms will become the inventory of the city's parks and recreation department. The fate of the school's cafeteria remains undetermined.

The northern end of the building - primarily classrooms and administrative offices - will be torn down.

But cutting a building into two pieces like that requires some precision and some careful analysis, according to Jeff Easter, director of the city's General Services department.

"It's probably the most complex part of the project," Easter said.

City Administrator John Hamilton agreed.

"We're leaving behind a much smaller building," he said. "This is a pretty complex design contract."

The contract the council approved last week with EDT-THA Architecture covers only the design work for the demolition and not the actual razing of half the building.

According to city documents, it's expected that about 108,560 square feet of the school will be preserved - essentially the right end of the building if you're facing it from Bailey Cove.

And the 120,000 square feet to the left will be demolished to make room for parking.

The council also approved a second contract for $49,140 with 4Site Inc. for engineering services for the campus beyond the buildings.

That will include the area behind the building with athletic fields, which Councilman Mark Russell described by saying, "It's a mess back there."

Improving traffic flow, access and parking will be a part of that study as well as determining the best use for the athletic fields, Hamilton said.

The football practice field and the baseball field could be adapted for use as soccer or lacrosse fields, Hamilton said. Smaller buildings behind the school - some built by athletic booster clubs - may also be removed and Hamilton said the city is in contact with those clubs to see if the buildings could be relocated.

The indoor batting cage may remain to be used by teams and clubs, Hamilton said.

The campus is in the district of Council President Jennie Robinson, who said she is expected a "very active community center" to emerge.