WAVERLY - Schools normally take years to plan and build. Officials in Waverly-Shell Rock, however, are working to organize an elementary in just two months.

Construction crews and electricians are working day and night to convert empty office space at Willow Lawn Mall in Waverly into classrooms, offices, a cafeteria and media center.

Floodwaters in June inundated Washington Irving Elementary in Waverly, creating the need to find space for the district's 250 fifth- and sixth-grade students and staff members. Unlike other flood-damaged buildings in the district, which will be ready for the first day of school, Irving won't be available when classes begin Aug. 21.

School board members opted to use Willow Lawn and may extend a lease agreement in one-year increments.

So far, the project is on track in spite of an ambitious time line, Superintendent Jere Vyverberg said.

"It's going very well," he said. "We are on schedule."

Construction started about July 14. In two weeks, workers put up walls for 12 temporary classrooms, and Monday workers painted the surfaces white.

Contractors are utilizing existing walls and utilities whenever possible, said Ricky Burks, project supervisor with Modern Builders. The company worked with the school district recently to construct a gymnasium and auditorium.

For example, the temporary walls at Willow Lawn stop short of the ceiling to allow use of existing lighting and heating and cooling systems, Burks said. The building's sprinkler system and walls can also be worked into the new design, he added.

Bringing office space up to codes required for schools presents some challenges, Burks said, but from a construction standpoint, the job represents a fairly standard task.

"(Administrators) are just lucky they found this building," he said.

Cooperation by many players was needed to pull off the project, and Burks applauded the efforts of electricians, construction crews and inspectors. Building projects typically experience delays, he added, but those working on Willow Lawn understand the district's desire to avoid a tardy slip.

"Everybody's on board," Burks said.

Renovations continue on other district buildings damaged by floodwater, as well.

Electricity and phone lines have been restored at Southeast Elementary, Principal Christi Lines said. The school also needed new duct work, and tile and carpeting will be installed soon, she added.

Work on damaged facilities will likely continue into the school year. Staff at Southeast, for example, expect to begin the year without cabinets, Lines said. Despite such inconveniences, she is grateful to contractors and district staff members.

"It's so much better," Lines said. "It's beginning to look like a school … "

Lines is also a principal at St. Paul's Lutheran School, a parochial organization in Waverly that also experienced high water. Demolition, sanitation and reconstruction is complete at St. Paul's, though the building still needs some finishing touches, she said.

At Waverly-Shell Rock Junior High, repairs are under way, Principal Steve Kwikkel said. The lower level gym has a new concrete floor. Locker rooms, however, are in worse shape, he said, and moisture trapped behind walls continues to be a problem.

"The hope is that we can have it ready in its original form by the beginning of the school year," Kwikkel said.

Contact Karen Heinselman at (319) 291-1581 or karen.heinselman@wcfcourier.com.