POULSBO — It’s impossible not to see while driving past North Kitsap High School on Hostmark Street. Since August, major renovations have taken shape at the site. By the time the 2007-08 school year comes to a close, the 300 Wing and 500 Wing will be completely remodeled and a brand new 5,000-square-foot library will be erected.

Renovations began at NKHS Aug. 1 with Hilger Construction Inc. tackling the work after securing a $15.2 million contract approved by the North Kitsap School Board in June. It marks Hilger Construction’s third construction project for the NKSD.

“They have worked on projects at Suquamish Elementary and Poulsbo Junior High School in the past,” said NKSD capital programs project manager Dennis Burch. “They are a wonderful conscientious contractor who foresees potential problems before they run into them.”

Burch said Hilger crews are very considerate of the students and faculty they are working around.

“They don’t allow their work to disrupt students and faculty during the school day,” he said. “From what I’ve seen, the staff and students have been taking this all in stride.”

The 300 Wing is essentially finished, Burch said.

“The classrooms were completed first so they would be ready to go when the school year started,” he said. “The teacher planning area and office still aren’t completed yet. That should be done in three weeks. The 300 Wing was the newest wing of the school so it took the least amount of time to remodel.”

The 500 Wing is in the thick of a renovation process and is slated for completion in December.

“Right now the entire interior is being renovated,” Burch said. “The interior trenches have been cut for new plumbing and new windows, doors and bathrooms are being installed. A new roof, mechanical system and seismic bracers are being installed.”

But the crowning jewel of the renovation will be the newly constructed 5,000-square-foot library that’s scheduled to be completed in February 2008.

“The dirt is piled up right now and the trenches have been dug for the footing of the library,” Burch said. “When the new library is finished it will be a dynamic main entry into the North Kitsap High School.”

Renovations on the 400 Wing will begin as soon as the new library is finished in February. The wing is estimated to be completed next summer, Burch said.

Despite all of the construction taking place during the class of 2008’s senior year, he said the students will actually get to enjoy some of the new amenities the school will have to offer.

“It will be pretty exciting for this year’s graduating class to enjoy the new library once it’s done,” he said. “They also will see the completion of the 300 and 500 wings before they graduate.”