MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — New renderings released by the Marshalltown Community School District show what the 100-year-old Miller Middle School will look like after its $106 million makeover.

“Probably 20 percent or so of the building will be brand new and the other 75 to 80 percent will look like new,” said Dr. Theron Schutte, the superintendent of Marshalltown schools.

The newly released renderings show that the school will modernize the auditorium and create larger classrooms for the 800 students who currently use the school.

A second gymnasium will be created, and a new common area will also cover the front of the building.

While changes are being planned, Schutte said the district’s goal is to still honor the building’s history, as it served as a high school, a community college, and a junior high school before becoming a middle school.

The words “high school” are still engraved on the exterior of the building, even though the building hasn’t been a high school in decades. Things like this sign and other historic architecture will be preserved inside the new model of the school.

“We definitely want to preserve as much of the history. A lot of it will be more visible internally than externally as it is now, but that has been a priority, to respect the past history of this 100-year-old building,” said Schutte.

Schutte said the renovations will help sustain the building for the next century.

This comes as a result of huge community support for the project. Last fall, the district was urging community members to vote in favor of a $57 million bond referendum that would help renovate the historic school. The district posted a video tour of the school online, showing the building’s small hallways, historic architecture, ceiling leaks, broken auditorium chairs, tight classrooms, and much more.

In November, voters agreed to the bond referendum with 68 percent of the vote. The bond referendum and state funding helped bring the budget for the project to $106 million.

Along with reimagining Miller Middle School, this budget will also be used to renovate Franklin Field and add audio/visual elements to all six elementary schools in Marshalltown. Renovations to Franklin Field began in early May. Schutte said progress is being made despite all the rain Central Iowa received this summer.

“Most people are generally elated about the fact that we’re bringing that facility back into relevancy here for the next 50 to 100 years as well,” he said.

Construction at Miller Middle School will be completed in phases so that it doesn’t disrupt the school year. The district is hoping to start in April or May of 2026, and it will likely take three years until the last phase of construction is complete.