LANSING | The demolition of the old Memorial Junior High School is complete, and only a few piles of rubble remain.

Architect James Maciejewski told a committee of the Lansing Elementary School District 158 School Board that excavation has begun for the construction of an auxiliary gymnasium to complement the older gym, which will remain.

The auxiliary gym is expected to be completed in the spring of 2009.

"The existing gym and the locker rooms are all being remodeled, and that will be done by this fall," said Maciejewski, who talked to the Building and Grounds Committee recently.

"We had hoped that demolition would be gone, and excavation started by the beginning of May, so we're just slightly behind there," he said.

Both gyms will contain motorized bleachers, as opposed to the old, manual ones previously used in the original gym.

Defined aisles, handrails and molded seats will be among the features of the new bleachers, Maciejewski said.

Meanwhile, the committee continues to explore the possibility of making bricks from the old school available to those who would like a memento.