Progress continues inside and out at W.E. Cundiff Elementary

By Debbie Adams

Driving down Hardy Road past W.E. Cundiff Elementary, it is easy to see the renovations and
expansion underway – the excavated hillside, the new concrete pad in the front parking lot,
which is slated to become the new administrative area, the beginnings of exterior walls in the
same area, and the relocation of a playground.

What you can’t see is all the progress that has been made inside as well over the nine months or
so the project has been underway. Roanoke County Public Schools Project Manager Brian
Dodson says that even though there has been inclement weather on occasion since the
groundbreaking ceremony in August 2024, crews have been able to work inside on cold, rainy,
windy, or icy days on classroom renovations.

The project at Cundiff will result in a building measuring approximately 75,000 square feet, at an
estimated cost of $29.9 million. The anticipated completion date is the fall of 2026. Contractors
include Branch Companies, Skanska, and RRMM Architects.

Phase 1, which involves renovations to the second and third grade classrooms, hallways, and
restrooms, will be finished in March, with students able to move back into those spaces, while
the contractors move on to another phase of renovations. Phase 2 will involve the areas where
grades one and three are located.

Dodson says that over the summer, crews will be working in the new administrative area, new
cafeteria and kitchen areas (on the right-hand side of the building), and the library area (second
floor), as well as the new parking lot and bus loop (also to the right of the school). The hillside to
the right of the building will remain green space.

Beginning in the fall, they will have the entire first floor and the remainder of the second floor to
complete.

The gymnasium is not being replaced, but the floor will be refinished, the stage removed, and
storage added. In fact, much-needed storage will be added throughout the building.

Todd Kageals, RCPS Director of Facilities and Operations, noted that significant progress has
been made on the project.

“It’s exciting to see the progress on this facility for our next generation of Vintonites,” Vinton’s
School Board representative Tim Greenway said. “Only a few can understand the joy of seeing
this project being constructed and know who the true angels are behind the discussions to make it
a reality.”