Cool Roof Archives - School Construction News https://schoolconstructionnews.com Design - Construction - Operations Mon, 30 Nov -001 00:00:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.7.11 Minnesota School Districts Receive Funding to Increase Safety https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2014/12/30/minnesota-school-districts-receive-funding-increase-safety/ ST. PAUL, Minn. — School safety is always a concern and has become an even larger issue over the last few years. Changes in design and operations are occurring throughout the country in order to increase security on campus, including recent updates for two school districts in Minnesota.

The post Minnesota School Districts Receive Funding to Increase Safety appeared first on School Construction News.

]]> ST. PAUL, Minn. — School safety is always a concern and has become an even larger issue over the last few years. Changes in design and operations are occurring throughout the country in order to increase security on campus, including recent updates for two school districts in Minnesota.
The Centennial School District in Anoka County, Minn., and District 197 in West St. Paul, Minn., recently passed referendums to put millions of dollars into structural security upgrades. The majority of schools in the area were built between the 1930s and 1970s, which is reflected in the design and layout of the buildings. As safety has become a focal point on campus, the Minnesota School Board Association saw that it was time to renovate schools in order to have the most up-to-date and effective system to keep schools safe from unwanted intruders. The money allocated in the referendum will be used to move the main office of each school to the front entrance of the school so staff can better monitor activity at the entry point of campus. Many schools now have the main office somewhere within the campus, which makes it difficult to monitor visitors effectively.
While these two districts are the first to receive money for the upgrades, the school board association’s director of communication Greg Abbott, said that even more schools will appear on the February ballot and will have a similar agenda.
The cost for taxpayers for upgrades to District 197 will be about $3 more a year added to property taxes, where the taxpayer increase was not available for Centennial School District. In Minnesota this year, more than $47 million in capital project levies will be certified for about 26 districts statewide.
Not all districts are looking to receive money for renovating their main offices, however, explained Abbott. Some districts are simply building new schools altogether in order to create a better design for safety and to update older facilities.

The post Minnesota School Districts Receive Funding to Increase Safety appeared first on School Construction News.

]]> St. Paul College Plans Expansion of Arts Center https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2010/10/06/st-paul-college-plans-expansion-arts-center/ ST. PAUL, Minn. — Private liberal arts university Macalester College approved a $40 million plan to renovate and expand its Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center. Earlier this week, Macalester’s board of trustees signed off on the project, which is expected to begin in January of next year and wrap up in July 2012.
 
Funded largely by private donations, the expansion will build new art history classes, an art gallery, commons areas, faculty offices, and new ensemble rehearsal rooms onto the fine arts center.

The post St. Paul College Plans Expansion of Arts Center appeared first on School Construction News.

]]> ST. PAUL, Minn. — Private liberal arts university Macalester College approved a $40 million plan to renovate and expand its Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center. Earlier this week, Macalester’s board of trustees signed off on the project, which is expected to begin in January of next year and wrap up in July 2012.
 
Funded largely by private donations, the expansion will build new art history classes, an art gallery, commons areas, faculty offices, and new ensemble rehearsal rooms onto the fine arts center. Additionally, the project will renovate an existing concert hall and upgrade the systems of the 45-year-old building. Macalester intends to raise another $7.5 million in private contributions, bringing its total donations up to $24 million, with the remainder bonded by the college.
 
“We’re actually farther along in fundraising than usual with such projects,” says Kathleen Murray, the college’s provost and dean of faculty. “Normally we start building with about half pledged, but this time we have about half — $12 million — cash in hand.
 
HGA Architects and Engineers of Minneapolis will serve as designer on the project, and construction services company McGough of Roseville, Minn., is the general contractor. The renovation represents the first phase of a larger $70 million project to repair and replace outdated sections of the arts center. No timetable has been set for the second phase.

Macalester College

 
 
 

The post St. Paul College Plans Expansion of Arts Center appeared first on School Construction News.

]]>