November Building Briefs

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NORTHEAST

 

The Tewksbury High School Building Committee held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Tewksbury Memorial High School in Tewksbury, Mass. The new school, scheduled to open in the fall of 2012, is expected to cost $66.5 million, a figure that is $6 million less than anticipated. The Massachusetts School Building Authority will reimburse 60 percent of the cost to the town. The project’s three lowest bidders were each $15 million less than projected, a fact that can be attributed to the struggling economy. Tentative approval was given by the Tewksbury High School Building Committee to accept the CTA Ventura Methuen Construction bid. Contact Massachusetts School Building Authority, (617) 720-4466.

 

 

Construction is underway at the site of a new $13 million support services complex for the Indian River County School District in Vero Beach, Fla. The 13-acre site is adjacent to the Storm Grove Middle School at the intersection of 61st Street and 66th Avenue. The complex will provide the school district with 95,000 square feet of space for the facilities, building, foodservice, and purchasing and maintenance departments. The maintenance department and the warehouse for purchasing will take up about 70 percent of the facility. Architects Donadio and Associates, from Vero Beach, designed the complex and local builder Summit Construction Management is the general contractor. The project is one of $42.5 million in capital projects that the district has budgeted for 2010-2011. Approximately $21.6 million of the capital budget comes from taxes, while about $15 million is from school construction bonds. Officials also announced that the go-ahead was given for the construction of the new Vero Beach Elementary School. This school, opening March 2011, is expected to cost $20 million. Contact Summit Construction Management, (772) 794-2099. 

 

Officials announced that groundbreaking occurred for a new school in Duluth, Minn. The Duluth Edison Charter schools began construction on a new $15 million school. Plans for the new facility, for students in kindergarten through the eighth grade, feature a gymnasium, science labs and computer labs. The project is expected to be done in time for the opening in the fall of 2011. Contact Duluth Edison Charter Schools, (218) 728-9556.

 

 

A groundbreaking ceremony was held to mark the start of work on the Central Fine Arts Academy in Sand Springs, Okla. A new $14 million 60,000-square-foot elementary school is being built to replace the existing CFAA, and serve Kindergarten through Second grade students. According to school officials, the decades-old CFAA is no longer ideal for educating young children and was becoming overcrowded. After project completion, the CFAA building will become host to the alternative school. The new school, part of a multi-issue bond issue vote that Sand Springs voters approved in 2008, will be located on 40 acres of land. Contact Sand Springs Public Schools District Office, (918) 246-1400.

 

 

Officials in Portland, Ore. announced a construction campaign to overhaul eight schools and provide the city with an economic boost. The proposal, a six-year $548 million bond, is slated to be up for vote on Dec. 13 in order for it to be placed on the May 2011 primary ballot. If approved, the bond would cost the average homeowner about $300 a year, based on an estimated tax rate of $2 per assessed value. The district has hired ECONorthwest, an economic consulting firm, to measure the impact of the spending plan on the regional economy. Results of this study were not immediately available, but school officials said investing in schools will stimulate the local economy. If approved, work would start in mid-2011 with the reconstruction of Marysville Elementary School, a Southeast Portland school that burned one year ago. Contact Portland Public Schools District Office, (503) 916-2000.