HUNTERSVILLE – School officials have officially broken ground on the area’s newest elementary school that should reduce overcrowding at nearby Torrence Creek Elementary.

The ceremony was held Tuesday morning, May 29, on the 15000 block of Stumptown Road. It marked the start of construction on the unnamed elementary school, slated to open at the start of the 2013 school year. The building will house 39 classrooms, and the site includes space for a high school, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools spokesperson said.

Torrence Creek Elementary currently enrolls more than 1,200 students, although the building has a capacity for only 800. Officials expect the $15.3 million Stumptown Road school to open at about 80 percent capacity.

Although the public approved a 2007 bond package to fund the school, the Mecklenburg County Board of County Commissioners did not approve construction until earlier this year due to the slow economy. Matthews Construction Company will build the school.