The majority of the work on the $6.4 million project will be completed over two summers. Gundlach Champion was awarded the bid to oversee the project. Funding for the renovation was approved during a millage election in February 2024.

“We’re not looking to expand the building — we’re using the same footprint — but we’re really moving things to utilized the space better. It’s much more efficient,” DIISD Superintendent Jennifer Huotari said.

“This was only been made possible due the support of the taxpayers,” said Joe Tinti, DIISD director of technical education.

The 35,900-square-foot space was dedicated on Aug. 26, 1976.

This color coded handout shows the renovation that will be completed at the Dickinson-Iron Intermediate School District Technology Center. The area in green will be completed in the first year and the area in blue in the second year. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)

“They’ve done a really good job of keeping up on this building over the last 50 years, but at some point you have to do what we’re doing now,” Huotari said.

The offices this summer will be moved to the front of the industrial arts area, left of where they are now. This will also serve as the new entrance to the building, featuring updated security.

“This does increase student safety,” Tinti said.

Three dedicated classrooms will be added for Welding 1, Welding 2 and automotive technology. Currently the classroom spaces for these programs do not have floor-to-ceiling walls, so it can be rather noisy for students trying to learn, they explained.

There will be new areas for lockers. A bathroom suite, featuring 10 personal bathrooms with floor-to-ceiling walls and ventilation, will open into a common handwashing area that is open to the hallway. This option allows students to use the unisex bathrooms on an as-needed basis.

Joe Tinti, director of technical education, shows off the classroom space that will become the new offices for the Dickinson-Iron Intermediate School District Technology Center. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)

It will also be near the Market Place, a student-run store that sells pizza, drinks and other snack food items during student breaks.

“One of the biggest pieces, besides the bathroom, will be the HVAC system,” Huotari said. The new HVAC units will be on the roof, which will be replaced as well. In the second year, all the classrooms will be updated, with new floors, ceilings, paint and storage units throughout.

There will be new siding with added insulation that will provide addition energy efficiency. The building will also have a complete fire suppression system.

“We have to update the water entry to meet the demands of the fire suppression system,” Tinti said.

The building offers classes for about 488 students in subjects such as Automotive Technologies, ​Educational Careers, Computer Networking and Security /C++, Construction Trades, Electrical & Mechanical Systems in Industry, Graphic Communications, Marketing & Entrepreneurship​, Health Occupations/Medical Terminology, Welding Technologies​​.

Dickinson-Iron Intermediate School District Technology Center will be renovated over the next two summers. This summer, the main entry will move to the left. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)

“We have excellent staff members that are teaching students on a daily basis with state-of-the-art equipment. This renovation will allow the building to be state of the art to house this equipment,” Tinti said.

After the first project is completed, the DIISD plans to do some work on the parking area. “We want to make it safer for students,” Huotari said.

———

Marguerite Lanthier can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 85242, or mlanthier@ironmountaindailynews.com.

This wing of the Dickinson-Iron Intermediate School District Technology Center will be renovated in the second year of a renovation project. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)