LEWISTON – Construction crews have begun the early stages of building a culinary arts building, the Green Ladle, near Lewiston High School.

“Right now we’ve got a big hole dug in the side of the hill” near the parking lot, Regional Technical Center Director Don Cannan said Thursday. Pieces of the steel building will be delivered in early November.

“By Thanksgiving the building will be up,” Cannan said.

The new building is expected to be open in late February or early March.

The $1.3 million, 10,200 square-foot building will expand LRTC’s popular culinary arts program, allowing the program to take about 60 students instead of 30, Cannan said.

The school is now housed off the high school campus.

As part of the program, students run a seasonal, part-time restaurant, the Green Ladle, which will be the name of the new school.

The $1.3 million school is being paid for out of the Lewiston School Department’s budget.