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Loy Norrix High School gets facelift before start of school year

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The iconic turquoise exterior is replaced with a navy blue, which more closely resembles the spirit colors of the Loy Norrix Knights.
KALAMAZOO, MI — The exterior of one Kalamazoo high school got a facelift this summer.
The walls of Loy Norrix High School were painted a darker blue, replacing the iconic turquoise color, and windows and exterior glass were replaced.
The school’s transformation was made possible by a $62 million bond passed in 2013.
The building will be open by the beginning of school, Tuesday, Sept. 4, Alex Lee, spokesperson for the district, said.
The majority of the work is expected to be complete, but crews will be completing the finishing touches after the start of school, Lee said.
Work at Loy Norrix began in the summer of 2017 and continued this summer. It cost the district $5.5 million, Lee said.
The district surveyed the school community in 2016 and found that a majority wanted a darker blue on the exterior of the building, according to a press release from the district published at the beginning of construction last year.
The turquoise color, a well-known feature of the 1960’s era school building, was replaced with a navy blue, which more closely resembles the spirit colors of the Loy Norrix Knights.
The building’s main entrance, known as the Tower, is now comprised of blue-tinted glass, and the formerly porcelain-coated steel panels seen along the bottom of walls have been replaced by more efficient and better insulated masonry, the release said.
Another effort toward better energy efficiency are new windows comprised of two quarter-inch thick glass panels with a half-inch of air space between them.
Renovation plans also included replacements for all 92 exterior doors of the building.
The 2013 bond passed by about 70 percent of voters included
More recently in May, the district passed a $96 million bond, which will fund the replacement of Edison Environmental Science Academy, additions to Phoenix High School, upgrades to school facilities, construction of a district-wide kitchen and more than $4 million of improvements to school security.

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