PHOENIX — Creighton University has reached an agreement on the construction of a new, nearly $100 million health sciences campus at Park Central in midtown Phoenix, a significant expansion of the university’s current presence in the state.

The project will be broken into two phases, with phase one to include a new 200,000-square-foot building that will eventually house nearly 800 Creighton health sciences students in Arizona.

The expansion will include a four-year medical school, nursing school, occupational and physical therapy schools, pharmacy school, physician assistant school and emergency medical services program. A second building adjacent to the first may be added in the future.

The new building will be located along Central Avenue on the Park Central property, on land that is currently a parking lot. Construction on the new building will begin in spring 2019, the first on the Park Central site in decades, and is expected to be completed in spring 2021.

Creighton’s new Phoenix campus will meet the University’s current needs while providing ample room for expansion in the future, and the central Phoenix location makes it convenient for students doing their residencies and other studies at nearby hospitals.

“Creighton University is preparing for an exciting new era in Phoenix, one that combines our tradition for educational excellence in the health sciences with our distinctive Jesuit, Catholic mission,” said the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD, president of Creighton University. “Creighton University has strong connections to the Arizona medical community, and we look forward to expanding our impact by educating many more exceptionally qualified health care professionals to serve the community moving forward.”

The new Creighton University facility is also a significant boost for the revitalization of Park Central. Sharon Harper, president & CEO of Plaza Companies that is redeveloping Park Central in partnership with Holualoa Companies, said Creighton is an ideal fit for the project.

“The new Park Central will have a focus not only on the creation of world-class office, retail and public spaces, but also on a commitment to health and innovation,” said Harper. “Creighton University’s commitment to innovating in health care education makes it a great partner, and we couldn’t be more pleased to have them join the Park Central family.”

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FLORENCE, Ala. — University of North Alabama (UNA) officials broke ground on the site of the new Laura M. Harrison Hall that will house the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions.

The UNA Board of Trustees met in July for a special session to approve the bid for the new building of just under $19 million by Consolidated Construction out of Huntsville. Local firm Create Architects will serve as the design team for the project.

Dr. Ross Alexander, UNA vice president for academic affairs and provost, said the building has been worth the wait.

“This important project took a little longer than anticipated to launch,” said Alexander. “But it’s the exact building we need to facilitate growth, support students and maintain the tradition of excellence in the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. It will also be a picturesque addition to our beautiful campus.”

According to The Flor-Ala, the first floor of the facility will be 16,148 square feet, and will have two 72-seat classrooms, two 72-seat computer labs, 16 faculty offices and a large study lounge in the center of the building.

The second floor will reportedly be 15,983 square feet, and will have two 72-seat classrooms, 19 faculty offices, a dean’s suite that includes a conference room and file room, and a large study room in the center of the building.

Two wings will be dedicated to the third floor. The first dedicated wing will reportedly be used for the basic skills lounge with 16 bed stations. The second wing will reportedly be used for medical simulation labs with eight simulation rooms, two debriefing rooms, two control rooms, one medical dispensing room and a nurses station.

The 55,729-square-foot basement of the facility will reportedly house all of the utility equipment for the building such as heating, air conditioning, fire pump, electrical distribution and technology distribution. The basement will be 8,364 square feet.

The proposed completion date for construction is Dec. 26, 2019.

A report from The Flor-Ala contributed to this story.

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The school was originally established in 1903 and attended by such luminaries as actor and musician Desi Arnaz, former Florida Governor and U.S.Senator Bob Graham, Miami Heat player Udonis Haslem and poet Donald Justice.

The school is a landmark known for its grand Mediterranean Revival-style architecture. Originally designed by architect Richard Kiehnel, the school is listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Florida-based Zyscovich Architects designed the current renovation project, working with Miami-based general contractor, MCM. The project team has been working on the school in multiple phases.

Design launched in March 2010 and the project is scheduled for completion by November of 2013. The three-phase project called for the addition of three new classroom buildings (one three-story and two two-story), a three-story parking garage, a new central energy plant and a new vocational auto shop. Phase II shifted students into the newly constructed classrooms to allow for a complete renovation of the facility’s historic buildings, including installation of new HVAC, electrical, plumbing and fire sprinkler systems, plus hurricane-impact windows. Phase II also called for renovation of the media center and auditorium.

Phase III includes overall site improvements, including a new landscaping of the school’s lush parks and plazas, and the addition of dedicated drop-off and pick-up areas. Upon completion, Miami High’s student capacity will increase from 1,649 to 2,800 and the campus will encompass eight buildings spread across three city blocks. The school has been at its present site since 1928.

Because school officials expressed a desire up front to apply for LEED certification, conservation and sustainability were the guiding factors for the plumbing fixtures at the school. But because the property involved is a high school, additional concerns had to be factored in. Attention to detail was crucial in the project due to the history of the school as well as the current issues surrounding the area, including vandalism. South Carolina-based T&S Brass and Bronze Works Inc. incorporated plumbing components in the project including its push-button metering faucets, which require less than five pounds of operating force to open and are vandal-resistant and ADA-compliant, according to T&S Brass and Bronze Works Representative Emilio Sorondo.

The school is iconic in the south Florida neighborhood so design and construction were meticulously engineered in order to keep the school’s grand presence in the area. Alumni and state officials even attended the groundbreaking back in 2011 to give their support and dedication to the project.

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The designs from Fleetwood include cabinetry, desks, tables, storage and mobile teaching/learning stations. The recent $3.5 million contract was awarded to Herald Office Systems, Fleetwood’s dealer in Charleston. The contract is part of a major effort by the school district to rebuild/renovate schools over the next five years to meet new safety standards, and due to a growing student population in the area.

Fleetwood will produce cabinetry for 420 classrooms in 15 schools, winning after a two-year bidding process against five competitors. The classrooms will be equipped with two Fleetwood Learning Walls, which use modular casework instead of built-in casework, allowing more flexibility as classroom space requirements change. The company also hopes to supply more furniture to the district in the future.

“Since being awarded this contract we have begun bidding on other furniture that the school will need and we hope to be in a position to fulfill all of their loose furniture needs,” said Jeff Pett, vice president of sales and marketing for Fleetwood.

The unique component of the furniture is the Learning Wall, as it allows for classroom flexibility, which is seen in many 21st century school designs.

“While not completely mobile, they can be easily disassembled and removed from the room to another room or another building without having to destroy and rebuild cabinetry,” explained Pett. “This allows a school to keep their learning spaces completely flexible for future repurposing, or to make building repairs without damaging the cabinetry.”

The Learning Wall will be incorporated at the Charleston schools in standard rooms with over 22-feet of Fleetwood cabinetry in front of the class consisting of two 8-foot Learning Walls, a center cabinet to support an interactive display, and two mobile cabinets, according to Pett.

Fleetwood has had many successes in the past and hopes to continue the trend into the future by offering school leaders and architects the tools they need to develop a better classroom atmosphere.

“We spend most of our time and energy selling the concept of keeping learning spaces flexible,” said Pett. “Once school leaders and architects grasp the benefits of doing that our entire line provides the tools to execute that philosophy.”

Fleetwood not only provides furniture to improve the flexibility of classroom space, but also is saving school districts money with its fast and efficient approach when working on a project.

“We have had some great success stories where our school customers have built or remodeled a school building without having any built in cabinetry — then our furniture arrives in several trucks and a few days later a school is ready to open.” said Pett. “We have been credited with eliminating a whole month out of the construction process, which all by itself provides huge savings to the school.”

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The Charleston County School District (CCSD) saw its role clearly and became one of the Noisette District’s first true partners. CCSD engaged both the community and local government leaders, creating its own school master plan to construct facilities designed to attract young families and foster local neighborhood development.

In addition to stimulating the community, CCSD wanted to rebuild two of its campuses: the Academic Magnet High School (AMHS) and School of the Arts (SOA). Despite substandard facilities, both programs were highly rated.

“AMHS and SOA are two of the district’s most highly successful ‘choice’ schools,” says Bill Lewis, CCSD chief operating officer for capitol programs. “In 2009, U.S. News and World Report recognized the Academic Magnet High School as the nation’s number one-rated magnet high school while the School of the Arts was cited as being among the top 100 high schools in the nation.”

A Unique Vision

Could students achieve even more in state-of-the-art facilities tailored to each school’s unique instructional programs? While the district believed the answer was “yes,” former CCSD superintendent Dr. Ron McWhirt feared voters wouldn’t support funding the cost of two new, separate campuses, especially when SOA serves a smaller than average student population but requires more costly, specialized spaces.

McWhirt recalled how his alma mater, South Carolina’s Wofford College, maximized capital funds by sharing support facilities. Rather than build two separate campuses, CCSD opted to create a single campus featuring separate, autonomous instructional facilities and shared support facilities such as an administration office, media center, auditorium, cafeteria, parking areas and utility plant.

“While we knew co-locating three high-performing schools with students ranging from sixth through 12th grade would present challenges, by building both magnet schools on a common campus the district could lower its capital costs through the elimination of duplicate support spaces,” Lewis notes. “The district would also be able to reduce future operating costs through the consolidation of bus routes and utilities.”

A Sustainable Solution

CCSD’s vision has taken on new life at the new approximately 330,000-square-foot Center of Arts and Academics, located on a 55-acre abandoned school site in North Charleston.

“As the program manager, our directive, was to follow LEED guidelines and make the campus as sustainable as possible,” says Heery International Project Manager Tony Pruner. “First, we repurposed an abandoned campus and preserved its stately oaks. We then tasked the construction team with recycling as much of the demolition material as possible. The site’s proximity to existing recreational resources and the easy access to public transportation were additional benefits.”

Architect Hermann Denzinger of Thomas and Denzinger, Architects, envisioned a unique collection of special-purpose facilities. AMHS, the SOA middle and high schools, the administration and media center, the performing arts center, the fine arts building, the cafeteria, gym and central energy plant are all separate facilities. They connect via a central, covered, galvanized steel walkway spanning 855 feet from north to south. This walkway, which also supports the chill water piping, serves as the transitional element between common areas and the individual academic wings.

“When we started the initial design, we traveled to similar types of schools and visited SOA to see how it functioned,” Denzinger says. “We were fascinated by how teachers and students interacted. In addition to following the very detailed specifications as determined by SOA’s staff, we felt it was important to create a series of informal spaces where students and teachers could collaborate as well.”

Those informal spaces exist both at the ends of academic corridors and in outside courtyards that flow from the central spine.

One of the hallmarks of Denzinger’s design is the ample amount of daylight that flows in through 10-foot classroom windows and floor-to-ceiling windows in spaces such as the cafeteria and media center.

“The buildings’ orientation allows us to bathe the facilities in light while the high e glaze keeps the heat out,” Pruner says.
Denzinger is proud of the curvilinear design elements that add a creative, open sensibility to the centrally located 600-seat cafeteria, which doubles as an assembly or performance space. Large, bowed, steel trusses serve as both support beams and a design feature, affording unimpeded views. Floor-to-ceiling windows allow staff and students’ easy, relaxed viewing onto the outdoor dining patio and adjacent courtyard.

The administration office is also centrally located. It houses the campus welcome center and serves as the controlled entrance where all visitors or late-arriving students must sign in. The facility supports each school’s principal, guidance and business staff, and also affords conference spaces. The shared media center, which offers comfortable reading spaces, computer labs, conference rooms and research areas, is located on the second floor.

In searching for the most energy-and cost-efficient systems, the design and construction team opted to install an energy-efficient, central ice storage plant that makes ice at night when the rates are lowest.

“The system circulates the chilled water through a central piping system during the day to serve each building,” Lewis notes.
Each building has its own rooftop fresh-air unit to ensure that all air is treated before it enters the building.

“While Owens and Associates was responsible for designing campus energy systems,” Pruner says, “the district took it upon themselves, given the size and complexity of the project, to hire several outside engineering consultants to provide testing and balancing and commissioning services and ascertain that the systems would work as designed.”

Another campus-wide feature is a series of attractive water features that serve as retention ponds and capture storm water from each of the facilities. These ponds then serve the entire campus’ irrigation needs, minimizing the district’s water bill.

Outstanding Performing Arts Center

While melding into the overall aesthetic, the Performing Arts Center is a clear campus standout; theatergoers would be hard pressed to differentiate this 600-seat high school teaching theater from a professional facility.

From a structural standpoint, what sets it apart is the fact that it is built on concrete piles rather than the surcharged soil beneath the remaining facilities, a feature that allowed the team to begin construction sooner. Key elements include an orchestra pit with flexible pit cover that can be used for stage expansion, extensive fly loft and state-of-the art production booth designed to give students as much professional exposure as possible while ensuring maximum flexibility for each performance.

“One of the challenges was creating a full performance theater that maintained a sense of intimacy and got the acoustics just right,” Pruner says. “Although it’s not visible to the naked eye, this facility has 6-inch concrete panels placed on top of the steel to deaden sound from outside. We worked carefully with an acoustical engineer to make sure the design and materials suited the school’s stringent requirements.”

Three-Phased Approach to Project Delivery

Because of the project’s enormity, CCSD opted to complete the campus in three phases over an ambitious eighteen-month schedule, with all doors opened in time for the 2010 school year.

“Given the occupied nature of much of the construction, we created a detailed safety manual for workers and students,” says Richard Ness, project supervisor of Contractor M.B. Kahn.

A key part of Heery’s strategy was to prequalify general and contractors and key subcontractors. With that information completed, the team bid out the project, awarding work to the prequalified firm with the lowest and most responsible bid.

“We staffed this project aggressively with one general supervisor and four sub-supervisors responsible for individual buildings,” says Ness.

Staffing helped the team maintain the project’s demanding schedule despite a request to add a 12,000 square-foot addition to the AMHS — consisting of a 200-seat lecture hall, art room and band room —in the midst of construction. Classroom space for the district’s hearing-impaired program was also included in the addition.

“Dr. Nancy McGinley, the district’s current superintendant, believed that hearing-impaired students could also thrive in such a creative environment,” Lewis says. “It’s inspiring to see how well these students have been received. SOA is now offering American Sign Language as a foreign language option.”

Beyond the close communication required among team members, the team also communicated regularly with the community.

“Given the piles being driven for the Performing Arts Center, we were concerned about potential damage to nearby homes,” says Ness. “Our solution was to install crack gauges to monitor potential vibrations.”

A Safe Campus Meant to be Shared

Despite security challenges, the district believed it was important to share the facilities with the community. Not only is the central covered walkway completely enclosed by building elements, ornamental fencing was erected to provide a secure outdoor learning area.

“The campus is zoned to allow after-hour use of facilities such as the theater, lecture hall and gym,” Pruner adds.
According to the School of the Arts staff, the school is fast becoming a model educational arts facility.

“Alumni can’t believe what is available for middle and high school students,” notes SOA teacher Marie Nichols.
Bill Lewis says the district and community leaders couldn’t be more pleased.

“The Center of Arts and Academics epitomizes what is possible when schools, community members, local government leaders, and design and construction professionals collaborate in a shared vision. Not only do the students have facilities suited to their particular interests, the entire county has a state-of-the-art campus for which it can be incredibly proud.”

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GREENVILLE, S.C. — When Redemption World Outreach Center embarked on a plan to build an athletic center that would serve the congregation and surrounding community, they found a cost-effective solution with stressed structure-membrane technology.

 

 

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