The Selah School District, near Yakima, Wash., has awarded to Spokane-based Lydig Construction Inc. a $26.9 million contract to build a new middle school, says Crystal West, a spokeswoman for the district.

Lydig started work on the project earlier this month, West says.

The town of Selah, where the district is based, is located about 200 miles southwest of Spokane, a few miles north of Yakima. The project site is east of the Selah Junior High School, which will continue operating during construction of the new school.

The single-story, 115,300-square-foot structure is targeted to be completed in December 2014.

When the project is completed, most structures on the neighboring junior high school campus will be demolished, and the remaining buildings will be used for other purposes.

Selah Middle School will accommodate an estimated student population of 825 when it opens, the district's website says.

The school will have some three-dozen classrooms, three computer labs, a gym, and a cafeteria that will double as a 542-seat performance facility.

The new middle school also will have improved safety elements, such as secure entry and exit points, West adds. The junior high, by comparison, has multiple buildings and 45 access points.

Spokane-based NAC|Architecture designed the planned building.

NAC also designed a $5.6 million, 23,900-square-foot addition to Selah High School, which also is under construction.

The addition will include six classrooms and a gymnasium. Fowler General Construction Inc., of Richland, is the contractor on that project, which is scheduled to be completed next summer.

Both projects are being funded under a $30 million bond measure that district voters approved in February 2012 and with some state matching funds, West says.

The Selah School District operates five schools and plans to consolidate them into four schools when construction of the new middle school is complete, she says.