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The Sun and News, Saturday, May 15, 2021/ Page 7

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TK breaks ground on learning center

Greg Chandler
Staff Writer
Paxton Dammen may only
be 2-1/2 years old, but he
couldn’t wait to stick a shov-
el into the large dirt pile at
the site of the school he will
be attending.
“He loves being on site
with dad,” said his father,
Cade Dammen of Owen-
Ames-Kimball, the construc-
tion manager for the new
Thornapple Kellogg Schools
Learning Center project.
With construction vehicles
already in motion in the
background, Paxton and stu-
dents from the TK preschool
and Great Start Readiness
Program Wednesday helped
turn over the first ceremonial
shovels of dirt on the new
$10 million center, which
will house the district’s pre-
school, Great Start, early
childhood special education
and child care programs.
Paxton bumped fists with
TK Superintendent Dan
Remenap after the ground-
breaking.
“Paxton is going to be a
member of the first class of
the new learning center,”
Remenap said in his opening
remarks.

The new building, to be

built on an 80-acre site on the

east side of Bender Road,

south of the high school, is

expected to be completed in

time for the start of the 2022-

23 school year. It will replace

the current learning center,

which was built in 1938 as

part of what was then the

high school. The current

building will be torn down to

make way for more parking

and better traffic flow around

nearby McFall Elementary

School.

Remenap thanked the

community for their support

of the project, which was

made possible by voter

approval of a $42.8 million

bond issue in November

2019.

“When I go talk to other

people, that is what we’re

known for, is how well our

community supports our

schools,” he said. “We take

that support very seriously,

and we take the trust you put

in us very seriously every

day.”

TK Board President

Kristen Cove echoed

Remenap’s gratitude for the

community support.

“Early childhood educa-

tion is the holistic develop-

ment of a child’s social, emo-

tional, cognitive and physical

need to build a solid founda-

tion for lifelong wellness and

learning,” Cove said. “We

are incredibly excited for our

students to play, learn and

grow in the new learning

center.”

Cade Dammen, a 2009

Thornapple Kellogg High

graduate and lifelong

Middleville resident, said

he’s excited to be working on

a building his children will

attend.

“I am so proud to be a part

of this project,” said

Dammen, whose mother is a

former TK elementary teach-

er. “I’ve gotten to work in the

district before as a superin-

tendent. Now I’m here as

management, and just to be a

part of my kids’ first school

and to work hand-in-hand

with such great school board

and staff members, it is won-

derful.”

The 32,575-square-foot

building will have 10 age-ap-

propriate classrooms and a

sensory room. Each class-

room will have a restroom

and an adjacent mudroom for

storage. The building will

have a new meeting room for

the school board that will

serve as professional devel-

opment space. It also will

have a kitchen warming area

and multi-purpose room for

breakfast, lunch and

gross-motor activities.

GMB Architects and

Engineers is the project

architect, and Owen-Ames-

Kimball is the construction

manager.

The first shovels of dirt are turned by (from left) Paxton Dammen, 2-1/2; TK Superintendent Dan Remenap;

special education and preschool administrative assistant Kim Dannenberg; preschool student Watts Workman, 5;

Great Start Readiness Program student Grayson Burgess, 5; GSRP student Rowan Kelly, 4; TK special education

and preschool director Sarah Hammer; preschool student Piper Nieder, 4; GSRP student Grace Kenyon, 5; and

TK Board of Education President Kristen Cove.

Thornapple Kellogg Schools Superintendent Dan

Remenap speaks at Wednesday’s groundbreaking cere-

mony for the new TK Learning Center.

Cade Dammen, director of field operations for Owen-
Ames-Kimball Construction, speaks as his son, Paxton,
watches.

TK Board of Education President Kristen Cove

addresses those in attendance.

Superintendent Dan Remenap fist-bumps Paxton Dammen after the groundbreak-

ing.

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