CANTON, Ohio, Timken Elementary School is nearing completion and is expected to welcome students this fall on the site of the former Mason Elementary School at 316 30th St. NW.
The 96,815-square-foot building will serve more than 600 students in kindergarten through sixth grade. It is the first of two new elementary schools Canton City Schools is building through a 36-year bond issue approved by voters in 2023 that will generate $60 million. A second building, Lincoln Elementary, is under construction at the former Souers Middle School site and is expected to open the following school year.
District officials said interior work at Timken is about 95% complete, and crews have moved into the final push outdoors, including parking lots, curbing, landscaping, and the district’s first fully inclusive playground. A community open house is planned for early September.
Fred Olivieri Construction Co. is leading construction for both projects, which broke ground in March 2025. The Timken project came in under budget at just under $30 million, and district leaders said keeping the school to one story helped avoid the need for an elevator, saving about $250,000.
Inside, the layout includes two mirrored wings, one for kindergarten through third grade and another for fourth through sixth grade, with specialized special education classrooms, sensory rooms, and planning spaces. Shared areas connect the wings, including a cafetorium, library, art and music rooms, and a full-size gym. The gym complex also includes an indoor softball training area and upgraded turf for the softball field.
Other design choices focus on daily operations and security, including interior and exterior cameras, a full-production kitchen designed to prepare meals on-site, and a community room that can be rented and accessed from outside without opening the rest of the school. Access into the main building from that room is controlled by a key fob.
Read the full, original article from Canton Repository here.