An £8.5m refurbishment and extension to the former Clyde Street School in Helensburgh is on target for completion by the end of February 2015, it has been announced.

Main contractor, Graham Construction, has been working on site to help transform the Grade B-listed building into a state-of-the-art community facility on behalf of Argyll and Bute Council.

Once completed, the new hub will feature community spaces such as a café, marriage suite, gallery and meeting rooms. The accompanying new extension building will house around 139 Argyll and Bute Council staff. The new facility will also contain bookable activity rooms and a central hall space, which could be used for exhibitions, plays and performances by community groups.

As part of the project, Graham is refurbishing the two-storey former school building and making alterations to the annexe building and janitor's house, as well as creating a new extension, which will serve as the central contact centre for local people to access council services in Helensburgh.

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The construction of a new sea wall at the rear of the building has already been completed, and car parking and landscaped grounds will also be delivered. Work to both the existing former school building and the new extension is being carried out in parallel.

In the new building, brick work and curtain walling work is currently under way in preparation for the main mechanical and electrical installation, which will commence in the coming weeks.

The contractor is also working alongside Historic Scotland in the former school to complete stone restoration work.

Tony Dixon, project manager for Graham Construction, said: "We have been making good progress across both the existing and new elements of the project and the countdown is now on to the handover of the facility in February 2015.

"It is tremendously rewarding to be working on a project which will see the historic former Clyde Street School back into productive use.

"The coming weeks will see activity on the site ramping up, with up to 80 people working on the project at one time.

"It's providing us with an interesting construction challenge to seamlessly combine the old with the new in this fashion – but one we are relishing."

Argyll and Bute Council's Depute Leader, Helensburgh-based Councillor Ellen Morton, added: "There has been a lot of interest in the project locally, with one of the town's older buildings being transformed into a 21st century facility.

"I am sure that people will be looking forward to seeing it complete. It will bring lots of benefits for the community as well as making it easier for the council's customers to access services."

The B-listed Clyde Street School building was designed in 1903 by burgh architect and artist Alexander Nisbet Paterson. After the school closed, the building was used as an education centre by Argyll & Bute Council, acting as a venue for everything from model-making to orchestras.

(JP/IT)