Joplin High School Project Nears Completion

February 5, 2014 1624 Views Central U.S., DPR Construction, Prime Coat

JOPLIN, Mo. — Construction on Joplin High School and the Franklin Technology Center is about 55 to 65 percent complete, Mike Johnson, facilities director, told Four States Home Page. Kansas City, Mo.-based DLR Group and locally based Corner Greer and Associates rebuilding both on the same campus to replace those that were struck by the May 2011 tornado that devastated the Joplin community and killed 161 people. In total, 10 buildings in the Joplin School District were damaged due to the tornado.
The construction team is about 14 months into the project, with about 10 more months to go, even though the project should have taken about four years, according to Johnson. The school and even the construction workers want the students to get back to their permanent school as soon as possible. The building will be ready for students in August 2014, but there will still be more work to complete after the building is occupied.
The building is designed to look more like a community college than a high school. It features a performing arts and orchestra pit that seats 1,200 people, three gyms (the varsity one seating up to 2,500 people), four courtyards and a rose garden that are in between the buildings, a baseball and softball field, football and track field, a soccer field, tennis courts and safe rooms in all buildings.
The Joplin School District in partnership with architects and engineers from DLR Group and Corner Greer and Associates helped create an interim high school until this new facility could be built. The 80,000-square-foot high school was designed to house 1,200 juniors and seniors during the next three years. The temporary school features a small health club instead of a gymnasium, media centers instead of traditional libraries or study halls, as well as a coffee bar and a store that acts as an IT help desk. The temporary school is currently able to accommodate students but doesn’t have the necessary space to hold any extracurricular activities such as band and basketball practice.