CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Albemarle County Public Schools is hopeful Albemarle Career Exploration Academy at Lambs Lane can open within the next few weeks, but a spokesperson stressed the timeline is based on how the project progresses.

It is unclear exactly what is behind the delay for the opening of the building, which was supposed to open two weeks ago at the start of the school year, but ACPS spokesperson Jason Grant told Cville Right Now the contractor has “targets” to hit so the facility can receive an occupancy permit.

“Those weren’t hit in time to open,” Grant said. “And so, the construction needs to be able to progress and get to that point. There’s also, even once you could get to occupancy, there’s still punch-list items and others that need to occur. So, that activity is ongoing.”

ACPS initially announced the delay on Jul. 31 and said it anticipated it taking the first three weeks of school before the building could be opened. Student have since begun taking their classes at the Boys & Girls Club of Central Virginia’s Albemarle Campus, starting on the first day of classes, Aug. 12.

Grant said the division is constantly monitoring the progress and will continue to notify families and students of the building’s progress.

Grant said the construction targets change daily. He said county inspectors are regularly going through the project to determine if it’s hitting the safety threshold for the public to be able to enter and therefore can receive its permit. This could include evaluation of the fire suppression systems, means of exits, stairwells and handrails, among other things.

Once the building receives its occupancy permit, the contractors will continue to work on punch list items before the building opens to the public. These could be anything from cosmetic to more urgent matters like ensuring walls are properly anchored.

Even when the building opens, work may continue.

Once students are let into the building for instruction, contractors will need to shift their schedule to continue to build out the school in the evenings and weekends only, as opposed to working on the building constantly as is happening now.

Grant stressed that the division is following this process in order to ensure things are done right long term.

The division first alerted the public of a possible delay in a construction update on July 8, in which ACPS said it was developing contingency plans in case the building was unable to open for the first day of classes.

“Our contractor has had a number of setbacks that have made it clear we are on a razor-thin line as to whether the contractor can meet the deadline for opening on the first day of school,” ACPS Director of Building Services Matt Wertman said in the update. “We continue to work with the contractor and will do all in our power to make certain the facility is open to students on day one.”

The message did not outline what those setbacks were.

Currently, ACE students are attending classes at the Boys & Girls Club Albemarle Campus, which is located on Lambs Lane, before going to lunch and closing out their day at Albemarle High School, located next to the new ACE Academy building.

Grant said the Boys & Girls Club of Central Virginia is not charging ACPS for the use of its Albemarle campus.

“It coordinates with their activities. They have plenty of time to get their activities up and running,” Grant said. “So, they’ve just been a great community partner with us. It’s made this much more seamless than it otherwise may have been, and everything seems to be going really well with the schedule and the facility.”