HOUSTON—Several school projects in the Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District’s (CISD) $335 million bond program are progressing rapidly, even amidst the current coronavirus pandemic.

Considered one of the fastest-growing districts in Texas, Goose Creek CISD is driven by massive growth in southeast Houston, with a projection of more than 2,250 new students over the next decade.

To accommodate this rapid growth, voters approved the passing of a new bond measure in June 2019, which provides funds for several projects, including new construction, aging school repairs, athletic improvements, safety and security improvements, and technology upgrades.

 “The district has been working hard to deliver exceptional facilities that will prepare students for their future,” said JP Grom, vice president of Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN), which is serving as the program manager.

“COVID 19 hasn’t stopped the district’s efforts. In fact, the district has accelerated some of the projects in this bond program.”

Goose Creek CISD superintendent Randal O’Brien concurred and said in a statement. “In the face of so many challenges from COVID-19, I’m thrilled to see our bond construction programs moving forward without delay. We look forward to the opening of our new projects.”

Edward Franklin “E.F.” Green Junior School is one of the biggest projects that broke ground last month. Named after the first African American educator to serve as a district-level administrator in Goose Creek, the $49.6 million facility is the district’s sixth junior school.

When completed next summer, the 192,000-square-foot school will house 1,100 students and include a 700-seat auditorium, dual competition gyms, media center, multiple computer labs per grade level, band hall, choir and theater programs. Pfluger Architects served as the project’s designer and the contractor is Pogue Construction.

The district’s existing San Jacinto Elementary School will soon be replaced with a new elementary school located just a few blocks away from its current location. With a completion date slated for December 2021, this new school will accommodate 800 students. Spanning 102,000 square feet, it will include a media center, gym, multiple computer labs per grade level, and an outdoor learning center. Designed by PBK Architects, the $22.5 million elementary school will be constructed by Marshall Construction.

The district is also adding a new Elementary School No. 17 to its current facility inventory. This elementary school— in a new master planned subdivision—will serve the rapidly growing north side of the district. The 102,000-square-foot facility will house 800 students and includes a media center, gym, multiple computer labs per grade level and an outdoor learning center. Originally scheduled for construction in fall 2021, the $22.5 million project has been moved up an entire year. PBK Architects is the designer.

The district is also expanding its Stuart Career and Technical Education (CTE) high school from 400 to 900 students. The CTE facility—originally an elementary school—has since been renovated for different uses, ranging from an administrative building to a special education facility. The latest renovations include the addition of a transportation academy, new welding lab, vet clinic, floral shop, IT academy and audio/video academy.

The $12.5 million project will renovate more than 60,000 square-foot of existing space and add a new 54,000-square-foot academic and administrative wing. The first two phases of the CTE facility were completed as part of the 2013 bond program. Phase 3 of the project, which is currently underway, will be completed in August 2020 while phase 4 will be completed next summer. Pfluger Architects is serving as the designer.

The renovation of the Robert E. Lee High School Auditorium is also underway. With a completion date set for January 2021, this historic 1,700-seat auditorium once served as the lone theater for the entire Baytown community in the 1950s and 1960s and was considered the premier theater in the greater Houston area. The $4.2 million renovation project will restore the auditorium to its original design aesthetic and include the latest theatrical improvements. The auditorium will be fitted with new lighting and audio systems, a new green room, new dressing rooms, new theater seating, new restroom layouts and a ticket booth/concession area. Huckabee is the project’s architect and it will be renovated by Comex Corp. Contractors.

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HOUSTON—The Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District (GCCISD) has selected Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN) as the program manager for its $335 million bond program.

Goose Creek CISD is considered one of the fastest-growing districts in Texas. Driven by massive growth in southeast Houston and plans for multi-billion-dollar refinery projects, this property-wealthy district is projecting more than 2,250 new students over the next decade. To accommodate this rapid growth, voters approved the passing of a new bond measure last month.

The bond package included funds for several projects, including:

New Construction: Elementary school #17, junior school #6, replacement of San Jacinto Elementary School, junior and high school fine arts facilities, and career technology education expansion.

Aging School Repairs: Stuart Career Tech High School phase three renovations, upgrades and renovation to mechanical, plumbing and building automation systems district wide, Lee High School auditorium renovation, fine arts renovations and band equipment replacements, high school career and technical education classroom renovations, roof repairs and replacements, as well as parking and site drainage improvements.

Athletic Improvements: New two-level field house at Stallworth Stadium and new four-lane running tracks with field stadium lighting at all five junior schools.

Safety and Security Improvements: Security camera replacement and addition, camera and recording software in school buses, and new police vehicles.

Technology Upgrades: Teacher presentation stations replacement and addition, network cabling replacement, interactive whiteboard replacement and addition, computer lab and library technology, and mobile devices replacement and addition.

LAN will provide program management services from conception to completion for every project in the bond program, except the security and technology upgrades. The services will include design review, construction procurement and administration, scheduling and budgeting, warranty and close-out. The firm previously served as the district’s program manager for its $267 million bond program that passed in May 2013.

“Over the last decade, the district has been working hard to deliver the environment and infrastructure needed for its students,” said JP Grom, LAN’s vice president. “The new bond program is a continuation of that effort. It has been a privilege to work alongside the district and their staff for the last several years. We are looking forward to continuing our work with the district to deliver excellent facilities that will prepare students for their future.”

Construction, renovation and school repairs will be completed in phases over the next four years. The bond program’s first project – the education service center – is on a fast-track schedule and the first phase of the project is expected to be completed by August 2020.

About LAN

LAN is a full-service consulting firm offering planning, engineering and program management services for the nation’s heavy civil infrastructure needs. With more than 350 employees across the United States, LAN is a national leader in the engineering industry and is consistently ranked among the “Top 100 A/E Firms” according to Engineering News-Record. LAN is a LEO A DALY company, an international architecture and engineering firm.

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The building includes a simulated hospital environment, featuring six beds spread throughout two intensive care rooms, two medical surgery rooms, a pediatric/neonatal intensive care unit, and a labor and delivery suite. The center also includes an apartment to simulate home health services and long-term care, two provider offices, three skill labs with various capabilities, and four debrief rooms, where instructors can walk students through video recordings of exercises they participated in or study the work of others.

“We believe we have created a national standard that can be replicated in communities across the nation to address critical health care issues of nursing shortages and patient safety, both from an educational and practical perspective,” said Dr. Margaret Faut Callahan, dean of Marquette’s College of Nursing.

The new facility was designed by Milwaukee-based firm Kahler Slater with CG Schmidt, also out of Milwaukee, serving as the general contractor.

Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, one of the largest health care systems in Southeastern Wisconsin, contributed $1 million to the project as part of an agreement that will allow its staff to conduct 200 hours of clinical training at the new facility each year, with some assistance from the College of Nursing faculty.

Many of the rooms were designed around the use of high-tech computerized patient mannequins, which can be programmed to display a vast variety of symptoms, altering the readouts for medical monitoring equipment to demonstrate trends students can pick up on. Along with students or faculty members speaking through microphones to represent the patient’s voice, mannequins can simulate a relatively realistic, if slightly surreal, clinical experience.

“We made it as lifelike as possible,” said Mary LaFrombois, associate and senior interior designer at Kahler Slater. “We drew on our national experience in designing health care facilities to ensure it reflects how rooms are being outfitted in the field. Today’s health care facilities are trying to create healing spaces with a more home-like or hospitality-type environment.”

The university included a relatively large amount of debrief rooms — four, compared to six simulation rooms, because the debriefing process often takes significantly longer than the actual procedures. Having adequate space for students to meet with faculty members allows students to get in and out of the simulation areas quickly, increasing the number of students who can participate in simulations each day.

The design team selected tile flooring for the hospital areas and carpeting in the simulated apartment, to emphasize the difference in the two work environments. The project also features some of the hallmarks of modern medical design, like gender-neutral designs and color schemes, recognizing the changing demographics in nursing. Another medical facility trend the university employed was the use of paints with very low amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are unstable chemicals that have low boiling points, meaning they are often released into the air when temperatures change. VOCs are the cause of warnings about microwaving plastic water bottles, as the heat change causes the bottles to leach chemicals into the water contained in them. Recycled content was also included in the ceiling tiles, carpeting, floor tiles, and vinyl flooring.

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