Davenport Elementary Marks Progress With Topping Off Ceremony

Construction of the new Davenport Elementary School in the Canutillo Independent School District reached a major milestone Thursday as the final structural beam of the new state-of-the-art campus was lifted into place during a public Topping Off Ceremony.

The $73.9 million Canutillo Bond-funded project will relocate Davenport Elementary to the fast-growing Enchanted Hills neighborhoods served by Canutillo ISD. The 119,000-square-foot, 21st Century Learning Facility will feature 36 modern classrooms, collaborative learning spaces and grade-level neighborhoods designed to encourage collaboration among classes, along with a strong emphasis on connections to the outdoors.

Canutillo Superintendent Dr. Josue Borrego said the ceremony provides an important opportunity for the District to demonstrate its commitment to keeping the community informed about the progress of major bond projects.

“This ceremony is more than a construction tradition. It is an opportunity to show our community that we are delivering on the promises we made when voters approved the Canutillo Bond,” Borrego said. “We are on budget, we are on schedule and we are committed to providing regular updates that demonstrate our accountability to the families we serve.”

For Davenport Elementary Principal Veronica Cervantes, the new campus represents an opportunity to bring together two growing communities.

“This school will unite the communities of Westway and Enchanted Hills and provide top-notch educational opportunities to every student who calls Davenport home,” Cervantes said. “We are building more than a school. We are building a place where our students, families and community can grow together.”

Topping Off Ceremonies are a longstanding tradition in major construction projects. They mark the completion of a building’s structural framework and the beginning of the final stage of construction. Attendees had the opportunity to sign the final structural beam before it was lifted into position.

LDCM Solutions President Andrew de la Rosa said the tradition represents an important moment for everyone involved in a construction project.

“A topping off ceremony is a significant milestone because it marks the completion of the building’s structural framework and the transition into the final stages of construction,” de la Rosa said. “It is a moment to recognize the hard work of everyone who has helped bring the project to this point and to celebrate the progress that will soon become a finished school.”

Construction is being managed on behalf of Canutillo ISD by the Procedeo Group. LDCM Solutions is the general contractor, and the campus was designed by Pfluger Architects and CDA Architects. The project is on budget and on schedule to open in fall 2027.

About the Canutillo Bond

Voters in the Canutillo Independent School District passed the historic $387 million Canutillo Bond 2024 on May 4, 2024. Canutillo Bond 2024 is the largest per-capita school bond ever approved in El Paso County and is a catalyst program in helping Canutillo modernize existing campuses, address continued growth within the District’s boundaries and upgrade the District’s safety and security infrastructure.