High school one step closer

Newport Harbor High School alumnus Don Knipp remembers how students from the Class of 1949 used to run to the top of the school’s landmark bell tower at Robins Hall to ring the bell after athletic victories.

“We were such a tight-knit group, because we had only known war, but then the war ended two weeks before we started high school,” Knipp said. “We’ve been close ever since.”

Robins Hall, which is already completed, and Norman R. Loats Performing Arts Center, which is part of the same building, is slated to be completed in November, about a month ahead of schedule, school administrators said Wednesday.

When completed this fall, the building will host Newport Harbor’s Class of 1949 60th class reunion. The project will cost a total of $55.5 million, said Laura Boss, Newport Mesa Unified School District’s spokeswoman.

The original Robins Hall, a more than 70-year-old school building, was bulldozed two years ago. Inspectors had determined in 2003 that the structure probably would not withstand a major earthquake.

The 100-foot bell tower that is part of the project was completed earlier this month. School officials had originally slated the bell tower for completion in October.

Students this week were already using new science classrooms on the second floor of the building. Administrative and counseling offices at Newport Harbor also have moved into the building.

The classrooms are equipped with LCD projectors and hookups to the Internet at each work station.

School administrators plan to host Newport Harbor’s first theatrical production in the newly remodeled Norman R. Loats Performing Arts Center when construction finishes in November.

“It is really fascinating what we’ve accomplished based on the challenges of bringing an almost 100-year-old site up to grade,” said Dana Black, school board president.

The project was bid out at about $42.9 million in December 2007 for construction costs.

Boss said the extra costs were “soft” costs for portables and furniture.

Funding for the project came from Measure F, which voters passed in 2005.

Timeline

 A more than 70-year-old landmark, Robins Hall at Newport Harbor High School was declared seismically unsound and closed in 2003.

 When voters approved Measure F in 2005, a $282-million school bond measure, replacing the aging structure was at the top of the list of school district priorities.

 Robins Hall was bulldozed in August 2007 to make way for a new building.