CLEARWATER, Fla.—General contracting firm JE Dunn recently commenced work on a $48.5 million modernization project of Clearwater High School for Florida’s Pinellas County Schools. Clearwater High School was built in the 1950s, and thus many of its oldest buildings are deemed unsuitable for use as 21st century classrooms. The project work entails demolishing 17 buildings that already exist at the jobsite, as well as constructing seven new buildings from scratch and renovating five others.

Those new buildings will house learning suites, science labs, a media center, an administration suite with multi-use collaborative space, as well as a central energy plant and cafeteria. Additionally, two-story classroom buildings will be constructed.

Renovation and remodeling of multiple structures will be undertaken, such as at the campus’s ROTC and digital media production laboratory. Other restoration and modernization work at other buildings entails painting exterior surfaces and installing new HVAC components and flooring for the gymnasium building’s lobby. Furthermore, certain of the existing classrooms will be converted for use as a new Family and Consumer Science room.

A brand-new entrance to Clearwater’s football stadium will be constructed and new synthetic turf laid down for the athletic area’s track and field.

Beautification efforts will be made to the area of the campus area that stands directly adjacent to Gulf to Bay Boulevard, which is a major thoroughfare of the surrounding community, and thus provide a welcoming visual for visitors.

JE Dunn personnel at the firm’s Tampa office are working at Clearwater in conjunction with architect of record Hepner Architects, which is based in Tampa.

In a statement to SCN, Jake Nellis, JE Dunn’s vice president, was enthusiastic about his firm’s work at Clearwater.

“We’re excited to be part of this significant renovation that will have a tremendous impact on the community,” Nellis said. “The new facade will in fact be remarkable, and will be a landmark in the [Tampa] Bay Area.”

Work at Clearwater High School is currently scheduled to be unveiled in the fall of 2023.

JE Dunn was founded in 1924 and provides construction management services through its 23 offices around the country. The contractor has undertaken construction and renovation jobs in Florida since 1989, and the firm re-established its Tampa office in 2015. The company has done extensive work previously with Pinellas County Schools: In 2018, JE Dunn worked with the school district to retrofit a career and technical education center into a technical high school for the district, which is now called the Pinellas Technical High School at Seminole.

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SEMINOLE, Fla.—JE Dunn Construction is progressing on an 8,797-square-foot, new classroom building and accessory barn structure that will expand the veterinary sciences program at Richard O. Jacobson Technical High School in Seminole.

The classroom building will consist of two veterinarian classrooms, veterinarian laboratory with dog wash, a science classroom, group restrooms, interior spaces for rabbits, cats, dogs, a common washroom, laundry and custodial areas, a shower, lockers for student farm attire, and mechanical and electrical service rooms. A covered architectural canopy extending on the front of the classroom building will provide seating and gathering areas.

The classroom building will open up to a large barn, a ventilated but nonconditioned pre-engineered metal building structure providing stalls for large animals. A covered area beyond the barn will provide for outdoor animal interaction and teaching.

The project for Pinellas County Schools also calls for sitework and utilities upgrades; the project’s scheduled date of completion is January 2022 and the architect of record is Ranon & Partners, Inc.

JE Dunn Construction, founded in 1924, is one of the largest general building contractors in the U.S., providing construction management services through 23 offices nationwide, and self-perform services in select locations. The company has performed work in Florida since 1989, and re-established a Florida office in 2015 in Tampa.

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TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — May 26, 2020 — A substantial $18.1-million modernization of Tarpon Springs High School in Pinellas County, Fla., was completed recently by JE Dunn Construction, the project’s construction manager.

Improvements ran the gamut from resolving drainage problems and demolishing multiple buildings, to upgrading interior systems throughout campus facilities and constructing a 12,261-square-foot building to serve as the new home for Tarpon Springs High School’s widely acclaimed Leadership Conservatory for the Arts; JE Dunn’s work scope covered more than a dozen structures and numerous site upgrades.

Renovations and improvements included complete acoustical upgrades in the auditorium, along with replacement of flooring and carpet, painting, new doors and hardware sets, canopy installations, new plumbing systems, improved acoustics, updated electrical power sources, new walls and ceilings, and more-efficient HVAC systems.

Site improvements included courtyards and outdoor classrooms, new landscaping and sidewalks, storm water utility upgrades including improved storm water detention, and modified parking and drive lanes.

The project architect of record was Rowe Architects of Tampa.

JE Dunn Construction, founded in 1924, is one of the largest general building contractors in the United States, providing construction management services through 23 offices nationwide, and self-perform services in select locations. The company has performed work in Florida since 1989, and re-established a Florida office in 2015, in Tampa.

Rowe Architects Incorporated is a nationally known architectural design firm that evolved from the practice founded in 1965 by the late H. Dean Rowe, FAIA. The firm has an award-winning history of providing quality professional architectural services on educational, institutional, commercial, multi-use and historic preservation projects throughout Florida.

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PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — JE Dunn Construction’s Tampa, Fla., office is transforming a 57-year-old career and technical education center into the first full-time technical high school for Pinellas County Schools in Florida.

The $13.2 million project at Pinellas Technical High School at Seminole involves the construction of a 34,335-square-foot, two-story building, with classrooms, administrative offices and kitchen and cafeteria areas. It also includes renovating 26,250 square feet of standing classroom and administration buildings as well as making site improvements to the 42-acre campus.

Pinellas Technical High School (Tech High) is for students interested in a challenging high school experience that will prepare them for a career and college, according to the school’s website. Students at Tech High participate in hands-on activities and collaborate on meaningful projects that train them to be critical thinkers and problem solvers.

As a result of this project, Tech High will better facilitate enrollment growth with its new schedule of full-day classes, with a curriculum that includes the full spectrum of courses needed to graduate from high school as well as honors and advanced placement classes. The school’s technical offerings will cover building trades and construction design technology, commercial and digital arts, electricity, nursing, veterinary assisting, and game or simulation programming.

The new facility, which will be replacing the Career Academies of Seminole, is expected to open August 2018.

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