IRVINE, Calif.—C.W. Driver Companies recently commenced ground up construction on Solis Park School, a new K-8 school in Irvine Unified School District (IUSD). Located within District 5 of the Great Park Neighborhoods, Solis Park School will serve approximately 1,000 students in the new community of Rise, as well as future communities located within the Heritage Fields development near the Great Park.

C.W. Driver Companies is partnering with PJHM Architects, Inc. on the project; it’s slated to be completed in time for the 2022-2023 school year.

Spanning seven buildings and 103,000 square feet, Solis Park School will feature a full-court gymnasium, an admin building, a multipurpose room, labs, classrooms, a commissary and a parking lot. A permanent childcare facility will also be incorporated for faculty and staff. The new project is one of many IUSD schools built by C.W. Driver Companies, including two Great Park Neighborhoods schools, Portola High School and Cadence Elementary School, among others.

“A long-term partner of IUSD, with a shared commitment to excellence, C.W. Driver Companies is honored to help introduce a new K-8 school in the Great Park Neighborhoods to support the area’s growing community of students, families and educators,” said Tom Jones, project executive, C.W. Driver Companies. “Featuring modern technology, flexible education spaces and myriad collaboration and learning areas, Solis Park School will support IUSD’s mission to make a meaningful difference in the lives of students through high-quality education.”

Solis Park School will be designed to meet criteria developed by the Collaborative for High-Performance Schools (CHPS), the United States’ first green building rating program for K-12 schools. CHPS helps maximize the well-being and performance of students through education facilities that are healthy, energy-efficient and aligned with modern learning.

“With the support of C.W. Driver Companies, a partner whom we’ve trusted and collaborated with for more than 10 years, we’re confident that Solis Park School will become a state-of-the-art learning environment that encourages students to learn, grow and thrive for generations to come,” said John Fogarty, IUSD Assistant Superintendent, Business Services.

Located in Orange County, IUSD comprises a diverse population of 36,000 K-12 students in one early childhood learning center, 24 elementary schools, four K-8 schools, six middle schools, five high schools and one alternative high school. Since becoming a school district in 1972, IUSD schools have been nationally recognized for comprehensive programs in academics, the arts and athletics.

Additional C.W. Driver Companies projects for IUSD include Woodbridge High School Performing Arts Complex; Springbrook Elementary School; Westpark Elementary School; Woodbury Elementary School; Portola High School and Brywood Elementary School, among others. The firm’s Southern California-based K-12 projects in progress include Measure G Modernizations for Country Springs Elementary School; Rolling Ridge Elementary School; Canyon Hills Jr. High School and Townsend Jr. High School in Chino Valley Unified School District.

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IRVINE, Calif.—C.W. Driver Companies, a premier builder that celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2019, today announced the completion of a $23 million Performing Arts Complex at Woodbridge High School for Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) in Irvine. The 36,000-square-foot facility will support the need for additional and upgraded performing arts space for students, staff and the local community. Highlighting the school’s front entrance, the new center serves as a campus beacon and incorporates a variety of new features, including a stage with a fly loft, orchestra pit, scene shop, dressing rooms and a 650-seat theater.

The complex also introduces a new 1,600-square-foot black box theater complete with a sound and light control room, and various support spaces including a lobby and ticket booth. Equipment storage and staff office space were also incorporated into the new complex. C.W. Driver Companies partnered with SVA Architects on the project.

“This Performing Arts Complex is a result of a highly collaborative process, with the final product reflecting input from both IUSD and the Woodbridge community,” said Tom Jones, project executive at C.W. Driver Companies. “With our breath of knowledge and experience building creative academic spaces for K-12 facilities across Southern California, we were able to deliver on the school’s vision for a modern facility that better supports its renowned performing arts program.”

A prestigious school for the performing arts, Woodbridge High School was named a Signature School by the GRAMMY Foundation for its outstanding music program — one of only 13 schools across the nation to receive this recognition. The new complex is funded by Measure E, an initiative passed by Irvine voters in 2016 to ensure all students have access to modern learning environments and technology.

“The new complex is a testament to our award-winning performing arts and academic programs and commitment to ensuring that all students are prepared for the demands of 21st century higher education and careers,” said Chris Krebs, principal, Woodbridge High School. “We’re looking forward to the endless educational and cultural opportunities this new facility will provide for our students and the Irvine community.”

Additional C.W. Driver Companies K-12 projects for IUSD include Heritage Fields K-8 preconstruction; Springbrook Elementary School; Westpark Elementary School; Woodbury Elementary School; Portola High School and Brywood Elementary School. The firm’s Southern California-based K-12 projects in progress include Measure G Modernizations for Country Springs Elementary School; Rolling Ridge Elementary School; Canyon Hills Jr. High School and Townsend Jr. High School in Chino Valley Unified School District.

C.W. Driver Companies is an established builder serving California since 1919.

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IRVINE, Calif. — Irvine Unified School District’s (USD) recently completed Portola High School opened in time for the 2016-17 school year this past August. While the project not only met the school district’s fast-paced scheduling needs, it also meets criteria developed by High Performance Index Schools, created to improve student success by providing high-performance learning environments.

The $126 million high school was built to accommodate up to 2,400 students on a 43-acre site made up of 16 campus buildings, three parking lots, an aquatics facility, football stadium, varsity softball and baseball fields as well as other outdoor field facilities. Locally based C.W. Driver Companies built the facility, while Los Angeles-based HMC Architects served as the architect.

On the inside, the Portola High School campus includes high-tech classrooms; a student union featuring collaborative learning environments and common areas; a Learning Commons with a media center that has quiet rooms and an “innovation lab;” an elective building that houses cutting-edge technologies and resources designed to inspire creativity and collaboration; video production, art and music rooms; dedicated science labs; special education facilities; a 2,044-seat gymnasium, locker room and classroom building; and a performing arts building with a 698-seat theater, black box theater, orchestra pit and second level balcony and dance studio.

“Twenty-first century learning is all about developing transformational collaboration and technical skills,” said Mac Byers, senior project manager with C.W. Driver. “Portola High School is designed to allow collaborative spaces for students as well as teachers. The campus is full of areas for kids to gather and work together.”

The Student Union and Student Learning buildings are constructed with this in mind. Teachers are not assigned a classroom like in traditional schools but instead have common workspaces. They then teach out of classrooms designed specifically for group learning with no particular front or head-of-the-class focus. Students learn in innovation labs, and Wi-Fi is available throughout the campus with multiple access points.

The main challenge of the Portola High School project was its fast construction schedule, according to Byers. That involved completing the 16-building campus in 20 months for the August 2016 opening.

“We addressed the challenge by essentially dividing a high school project into four elementary school-sized projects, running them all concurrently,” Byers said. “We achieved buy-in from all parties and experienced a high degree of coordination and preplanning with all parties with close schedule monitoring.  The team quickly and efficiently addressed challenges and never lost sight of the objective.”

Teamwork and team synergy can be a challenge on projects of this size, Byers continued. “With upwards of $7 million dollars of labor, materials and equipment being expended every month there is plenty of opportunity for teamwork to break down — not on this project,” Byers said. “The team stayed focused on the issues, addressed them with cool heads and continually persevered through to get the best possible solutions.”

Subcontractor cash flow is critical on a project that requires a large labor force on a project like this, and subcontractors typically can experience drains in cash flow of $1 million to $2 million between work and payment, according to Byers. “C.W. Driver and Irvine USD made a commitment to process monthly billings and change orders quickly to minimize that impact on subcontractors,” he added. “This effort on behalf of the subcontractors was met with a high degree of subcontractor cooperation on myriad issues.”

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