Ground breaks on new elementary school in east Kitchener

Chicopee Hills Public School will be built at Lackner Boulevard and Fairway Road in Kitchener. (Waterloo Region District School Board)

Construction is officially underway on a long-delayed public elementary school in Kitchener.

Chicopee Hills Public School was originally supposed to be open by September 2014.

That date was pushed back three times due to delays in getting a zone change for the property at Lackner Boulevard and Fairway Road.

Construction was further delayed after word got to officials that somebody may have seen a rare, threatened type of turtle in the area.

A three-month search of the property did not turn up any sign of the turtle.

This week, Waterloo Region District School Board officials and representatives of the companies involved in construction gathered at the site to hold a ceremonial groundbreaking.

The school is expected to open by September 2017 and have room for 650 students from junior kindergarten to Grade 8.