The September 2006 opening of Creekside Elementary School in north Suffolk should alleviate overcrowding in the school division for about four years.

The 800-student school, which will be located at the intersection of Shoulders Hill and Bennetts Creek roads, will be at 75 percent of it maximum student capacity when it opens, said Suffolk Public School Superintendent Dr. Milton Liverman during a presentation Wednesday to the Suffolk City Council.

The student populations in the now overcrowded Northern Shores and Driver elementary schools will also be reduced to 75 percent capacity, he said.

&uot;If we do that, we may have four or five years of space at our current level of growth,&uot; said Liverman.

At one point, the school division planned to close Florence Bowser Elementary School and turn the building into an alternative school.

But now, &uot;It has become clear that we will have to keep all buildings open in that part of the city,&uot; Liverman said.

Construction on the school will get under way in the coming months, a spokesman for the architectural firm of Rodriguez, Ripley, Maddux and Motley.

The site plan has been submitted for review to the city, he said.

Construction of Creekside will cost

$12.3 million, $3.6 more than originally estimated due to the rising costs of steel and building materials.

On Feb. 27, the schools will begin soliciting bids for qualified contractors to erect the building.

Final designs were presented to the School Board at its monthly meeting last week.

allison.williams@suffolknewsherald.com