STAFFORD, Texas—Stafford Municipal School District (SMSD), the only municipal school district in Texas, is on schedule to open its new facilities for middle school and administration this month.

The new facilities are being constructed as part of SMSD’s $62 million bond program that passed in late 2017. The bond program provided funds to address growth and expansion at SMSD, which enrolled approximately 3,600 students in the 2019-20 school year.

“We are thrilled with our new space,” said SMSD Superintendent Dr. Robert Bostic in a statement. “We can’t wait for staff, students and the community to see the final result and enjoy the renovations of our complex in person one day soon.”

The new $26 million middle school will accommodate 950 students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade. The three-story building, encompassing 139,360 square feet, includes 21st century classrooms, science laboratories, robotics, engineering and computer labs, band and two art rooms, fitness room, library, two gymnasiums and a cafetorium. The existing middle school was built in 1983 during the district’s inception.

The new two-story, 26,362-square-foot administrative building includes office areas, training and conferences rooms, and a board room for meetings. The $6.9 million facility includes a district memorabilia area where there will also be a 3D model of the complex installed. Both buildings were designed by AutoArch Architects and are being constructed by Drymalla Construction.

“The new facilities are aesthetically appealing and offer unique instructional opportunities for Stafford MSD students,” explained JP Grom, vice president at Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam,

the firm serving as the program manager for the bond program.

Other elements of the bond program include converting the existing middle school into a new Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM) magnet school for grades 3 to 8 that will open in 2021-22—the only one of its kind in Fort Bend County, a repurposed community center in place of the former administration building, a new outdoor educational plaza, converting the former intermediate school into an early childhood center, and renovation of the existing elementary and high schools.

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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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According to a local report, the current center, known as the Bates Law Building, was erected in 1969 and has not been updated since the 1970s. Most of the current law building is situated underground with no windows, making it dark as well as susceptible to flooding. Floods in the past have ruined textbooks as well as forced students to move out of the building.

Once the school is able to raise the proper amount of funding, university officials will construct a five-story facility to replace the current building that’s suffered major water damage. The new facility will include modern technology, a law library, classrooms, a courtroom and event space. All services will be centralized and easy to navigate, including faculty, who will be accessible on the first floor.

The first floor will house a new courtroom and parliament-style classrooms, an event space for hosting speakers and guests, a security desk and lobby that works as a directory and information center, and a clinical space, where pro bono legal services will be offered to the community.

Instead of underground, the library will be on the new building’s top two floors.

Another primary goal is to improve the status of the law school as the center is already ranked as one the top centers for law in the country; specializing in healthcare law, intellectual property law and part-time law.

The center has currently raised $10 million toward construction — which will take place at what is currently lot 19b — from alumni and the Law Foundation.

The University will not know the outcome of their request until May at the earliest, when the current legislative session ends.

Construction is expected to begin by 2021 assuming things move forward with the funding.

Reports from the Houston Chronicle and the Daily Cougar contributed to this story.

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Designed by Stantec, The PVA School will be the sixth elementary school for Sheldon ISD. The new elementary school is being constructed as part of Sheldon ISD’s $285 million bond program that passed in May 2016. Last year, Sheldon ISD broke ground on its new high school.

Sheldon ISD is considered one of the fastest-growing districts in Texas. According to a June 2014 demographic study, district enrollment was projected to be around 8,300 by 2015. The district, which grew by seven percent in 2015, exceeded that projection with more than 8,500 students enrolling. By 2025, the projected student enrollment is expected to surpass 15,000.

Responding to this robust growth, voters approved the passing of a $285 million bond program with nearly 70 percent of the vote. The bond program is the largest in the district’s history. LAN is the program manager for the $285 million bond program, which includes several projects such as the PVA school.

Located southwest of Beltway 8 and Garrett Road, this new two-story PVA school, designed by Stantec, is located on a shared site near the new high school and football stadium. At the heart of the design, and integral to the building, are the PVA instructional spaces. The approximately 88,000-square-foot-facility includes a blackbox theater that converts from classroom to performance space, an art studio, music studio, dance studio and design studio. Each of these spaces are designed in a way that celebrates the unique activities that will take place inside.

Other elements of the bond program include a new 10,000-seat football stadium, new track, baseball and softball fields, and tennis courts. The bond program also includes additions and renovations to existing middle schools as well as district-wide energy management upgrades.

The new PVA school, which will be constructed by Durotech, will be completed in time for the start of the 2019 fall semester.

LAN is a full-service consulting firm offering planning, engineering and program management services.

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Most construction new school construction in the city is being supported by bond sales approved by voters in past years. Here is a roundup of seven of the largest projects currently underway for Houston Independent School District:

High School for the Performing Arts: In February 2016, a more than $80 million project to build a new High School for the Performing Arts began construction, with an estimated completion scheduled for late 2018.

Sam Houston Center for Math, Science and Technology: The $100.4 million Sam Houston Center for Math, Science and Technology is also underway, with construction starting later this year and a completion date scheduled for 2019.

Lamar High School: A groundbreaking is scheduled for the nearly $108 million Lamar High School project for later this year. To be located adjacent to the existing high school it will replace, the project is scheduled for completion at the end of 2018.

Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions: The $64.5 million Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions is well underway, and is scheduled for completion early this year.

Furr High School: The $55.1 million Furr High School project started construction in mid-2015 and is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2017.

Austin High School: Scheduled to begin construction this quarter, the more than $68 million Austin High School is slated for completion in the third quarter of 2019.

James Madison High School: Last but not least, the nearly $83 million James Madison High School should begin construction work this quarter, with an expected completion date of late 2018.

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The firm beat out three other finalists for the contract to design the iconic high school, a part of the Beverly Hills Unified School District. The design team included architects from DLR’s Los Angeles, Seattle and Orlando offices.

The firm’s designers are familiar with the Beverly Hills district area, with a current project in the works at Hawthrone Elementary School.

The completed BHHS project will boast 380,000 square feet of modernized construction, although the specifics haven’t been decided as the project is still in its initial phases.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. We still have to go through the geotechnical, and then the master planning will start sometime in the summertime of next year,” said Julio Palacio, architect and the school district’s project manager for all capital improvement projects.

High School Concerned With County’s Subway Plans

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has tentative plans to drill a subway tunnel 70 feet below Beverly Hills High School.

Los Angeles is not new to the idea of providing an underground tunnel system for mass transit. The city’s current subway only covers about 20 miles of the city’s 468 square miles.

In 1986 there was a brief tunneling ban due to increased fears that construction of the tunnel could cause an explosion of methane gas. Currently, the concern is damage from earthquakes.

The district has expressed opposition to the subway plan and wants Metro to move their sights away from the school.

“The reports show several faults crossing the north end of the BHHS campus and running under several BHHS buildings,” said Lisa Korbatov, president of the Board of Education for Beverly Hills Unified School District. “These faults are all part of the Newport-Inglewood fault, a major seismic fault system in the state.”

The faults, along with pressure from the school district, may cause the Transporation Authority to reroute the subway, but the modernization by DLR Group will continue without debate.

Although the master planning hasn’t officially begun, creative innovations are being discussed.

“A few existing buildings will be removed to make way for new, state-of-the-art academic buildings featuring flexible spaces and green roofs for gathering and collaboration,” said Brett Hobza, principal with DLR Group.

Design team ideas include a pedestrian mall in the center of campus, upgrades to or replacement of three theaters, and preserving the iconic 1920s academic building as the doorway to the campus.

DLR is taking suggestions from BHUSD, students, staff, and community members into the planning process to make the school a reflection of those involved with its success.

“The initial concept was developed based on information we gathered from the district, but now it’s time to sit down with the users and design what they envision for the new Beverly Hills High School,” Hobza said.

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The 106,000-square-foot project will include new classrooms, science and vocational labs, band rooms and art studios.

With St. Louis-based S.M. Wilson as the general contractor and Ill.-based Wight & Company as the architect, the expansion will resemble the existing buildings, including its terrazzo floors and steps, and limestone accents.

A vocational lab will be located on the ground floor and in the basement, serviced by a freight elevator. The ceiling of the basement will feature sound and vibration controls to keep lab noise from disrupting activities on the first floor.

The first floor will include the fine arts program, featuring visual, instrumental and vocal arts classes. The second floor will house the social studies programs.

Designs for the school also include a vegetation area on the roof surrounded by a glass curtain wall to be cared for by students.

Three 20,000 gallon outside water harvesting tanks will also be located at the base of the building for rain collection and irrigation for the field behind the building.
    
Officials from the contracting firm expect the project to be completed in the fall of 2012.

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