MENIFEE, Calif.—C.W. Driver Companies is now at work on the $54.5 million Menifee Union School District Elementary School #15. The K-5 school’s construction will take place over 46 acres, with the campus designed in a horseshoe shape envisioned by DLR Group | BakerNowicki.

The 75,000-square-foot Riverside County school will be home to nearly two dozen classrooms as well as a dedicated kindergarten building. In addition, the new school will feature a modern library and information center, administration area, cafeteria as well as a large multipurpose room with a state-of-the-art audiovisual system.

On the exterior, the school will offer playgrounds, track fields, pickup/dropoff area, as well as a parking lot for over 100 vehicles and various spaces devoted to gatherings as well. Because of the extensive nature of the redesign of the parcel of land, street renovations to the adjoining Wickerd Road are also necessary.

When the school comes online in July 2024, it will be able to host approximately 600 students, according to estimates from the general contractor and designers.

“This is the second school we’ve worked on for the Menifee Union School District, with Menifee Valley Middle School being the first,” Andy Feth, project executive at C.W. Driver Companies, said in a statement in connection with the recent groundbreaking. “In that instance, it was an intricate expansion of an existing campus, while this is a completely new build from the ground up.”

In a subsequent statement emailed to School Construction News, C.W. Driver personnel said that to keep the project moving along in a timely fashion, the general contractor had to get creative with its various partners considering the construction work experienced a rather sizable budget overrun.

“Much of the savings were realized during the short window between bid opening and award, which is a testament to the overall project team’s determination and hard work,” said Eric Metzger, senior project manager for C.W. Driver.

Elsewhere in the Golden State, C.W. Driver’s education-related CV of K-12 projects includes their work at San Diego USD’s Nipaquay Elementary School, Grossmont UHSD’s El Capitan High School Events Center, San Dieguito UHSD’s Torrey Pines HS Modernization and Chino Valley USD’s New K-8 The Preserve II School. The firm boasts an educational portfolio of over 150 projects in its century-plus of existence.

C.W. Driver was founded in 1919, and offers expertise in the school construction sector entailing such expertise as construction management.

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MENIFEE, Calif.—C.W. Driver Companies broke ground today on a reconstruction project for Menifee Valley Middle School. The $38 million, 71,277-square-foot project, which will help transition the campus to a magnet school focused on visual and performing arts, includes the addition of two new classroom buildings, restorations to the Visual and Performing Arts Center, construction of an open-concept library and renovations to existing locker rooms. Located in Riverside County, roughly 15 miles north of Temecula, the new campus is expected to be completed in spring 2021.

Menifee Valley Middle School’s renovation includes the reconstruction of temporary portables into new, permanent classrooms and lab spaces that create a centralized academic courtyard and cohesive community. Other key modifications include new music and choir space as well as a renovated stage in the Visual and Performing Arts Center, introduction of outdoor learning areas, large classroom windows to allow for natural light, and active learning spaces optimized for use in the arts, music and sciences known as Flex Labs. The campus will also feature a clean and contemporary façade that is energy efficient and comfortable for students and staff.

As part of the unique design, Menifee Valley Middle School’s new library will include a flexible plan configuration, collaboration spaces to facilitate group work and soft seating areas for students seeking a quiet, comfortable place to study. On the athletic front, renovations to existing locker rooms will include ADA upgrades, AV improvements and a washer/dryer addition.

In an effort to increase transparency with the local community, the district and project team are utilizing an inclusive process that closely involves community members, administration, staff, students and parents in the renovation. The reconstruction of Menifee Valley Middle School is a collective effort and the fingerprints of everyone involved will be seen throughout the design.

The school is conveniently located minutes from the 15 freeway and just five miles from Interstate 215, providing easy access for parents commuting to and from work and proximity to the local Paloma Valley Community Library.

C.W. Driver is working with BakerNowicki Design Studio on Menifee Valley Middle School. Additional C.W. Driver K-12 projects in progress include Measure G Modernizations for Howard Cattle Elementary School and Rolling Ridge Elementary School in Chino Valley Unified School District; new construction and modernization for Woodbridge High School Performing Arts Center and Springbrook Elementary School in Irvine Unified School District, among others.

C.W. Driver Companies is a premier builder serving California since 1919.

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Senate Bill 16 stalled after the Senate and House could not agree on a finalized amount for the Tuition Revenue Bonds and amendments to the original bill were not approved. The Senate called for $2.4 million in bonds while the House bill issued $2.7 billion. The Senate voted down the House amount and amendments, and the House did not appoint the necessary conference committee to seek compromise between the two bills. Because of the two legislative bodies were unable to come to a conclusion, both bills died in the regular session.

The decision now lies with Texas Governor Rick Perry on whether to revive the proposal and sign the bond bill into the 30-day special session for further consideration.

Among the many projects that would be funded by bond revenues include a new engineering building at the University of Texas at Austin, the University at Texas Brownsville campus, a biocontainment research facility and music building at Texas A&M University, a $95 million expansion at the University of Houston-Victoria and a pharmacy and biomedical sciences building at the University of Houston.

“It’s a real tragedy,” said Representative Rene Oliveira, D-Brownsville, in a statement. “That $100 million that was there for UT-Brownsville would have given us the campus that we need. That $100 million would have been an accelerant, which would have ignited campus growth almost immediately.”

Senator Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, the original author of the bill, said she has a revised bill ready for the governor the moment he issues the proposal into special session.

“We’re working very hard to achieve consensus,” Zaffirini said.

Bond revenue has not been available to Texas colleges or universities since 2006. Since then, the higher education system has seen significant growth and renovations are long overdue, according to Zaffirini and bill proponents.

“The universities have grown so much and we’re now facing a capacity issue,” Zaffirini said. “Our funding formula awards growth but we cannot grow without construction.”

Both the House and Senate have filed comprehensive tuition revenue bonds for the governor’s consideration. Texas now eagerly waits on whether the long-awaited bill will move forward.

“This is the perfect time,” Zaffiririn said.

As of press time, Perry did not add the bill to the special session call. However, he is allowed to add any legislation to the call during the 30-day special session.
 

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