BILLY SHIELDS: Officials in Chesterfield County cut the ribbon on a brand new school, as August began.

Its billed as the largest middle school in Central Virginia.

QUINCY WALLER: We have about 1,400 students strong, and this building is outfitted for 1,800.

So, it provides room for growth whereas in the past, some schools have been built as new construction.

And the day that it opened, they were already at capacity.

BILLY SHIELDS: This new school is a sight for sore eyes in a county that added more than 50,000 people in the past decade.

DOT HEFFRON: Our county is growing rapidly, and building facilities that can support that growth is critical to maintaining learning environments where students have room to move.

BILLY SHIELDS: Officials say its $103 million price tag came in under budget and that it was built on time.

DOT HEFFRON: Yeah, it was no small feat both logistically and financially.

It's a huge investment that we've made in our community.

BILLY SHIELDS: The new school involves a high tech gym equipped with with mechanically retractable bleachers, brand new classrooms, and a new auditorium with interactive screens.

QUINCY WALLER: Like a breath of fresh air.

BILLY SHIELDS: There are also parts of the old Falling Creek incorporated in the design.

A time capsule is embedded into the bricks, set to open in 25 years.

ADRIENNE BLANTON: The original Falling Creek was a all brick building with very few windows, classrooms were kind of tight and small and you didn't have all the technology that we have today.

BILLY SHIELDS: The old Falling Creek Middle will serve as the site of Bensley Elementary, while its new school is completed in two years.

Billy Shields, VPM News.