BAYTOWN, Texas—The Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the grand opening of the district’s new Lee High School Fine Arts building. The modern arts educational building was realized following years of planning for its construction.

The Lee High School Fine Arts building will be home to the district’s band, choir, orchestra and dance programs. In addition to rehearsal and performance spaces, the fine arts building will also allow for students and teachers to make use of ample meeting areas, as well as group events.

“Giving [students] a larger, stand-alone building where every student interested in fine arts can call home was a dream that, with the support of the Board, Citizens Bond Oversight Committee, community, business sponsors and Lee High School alumni, we were able to fulfill,” Dr. Randal O’Brien, GCCISD superintendent, said at the unveiling—which was followed by a tour of the new facility for select guests.

The fine arts building was realized by the planning, engineering and program management firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc. (LAN), who also served as GCCISD’s 2019 bond program manager.

“The new fine arts facility for Lee High School is a huge milestone for the growth and expansion Goose Creek CISD has experienced over the last decade,” JP Grom, vice president at LAN, said at the unveiling.

LAN worked in combination with general contractor Marshall Construction and Pfluger Architects on the facility.

In a subsequent statement sent to School Construction News LAN’s Clement A. Medina, associate and program manager at LAN, said that ongoing economic concerns with raw materials also threatened to up the cost of the fine arts building, but he and his colleagues found ways to address these issues.

“As prices of construction materials climbed to record highs and equipment lead times stretched from months to years, the project team worked diligently to keep the project within budget and on schedule,” Medina said.

Goose Creek CISD currently encompasses 24,000 students in its area of 134 square miles, and is the single largest employer within the district’s boundaries. It is one of the fastest-growing districts in Texas, with more than 2,000 additional students projected to be educated there in the next decade. This tremendous growth requires additional resources, just one of which is the Lee High School Fine Arts building.

“The students and staff associated with these fine arts programs put long hours into learning, rehearsing and polishing, often in inclement weather,” Tiffany Guy, president of the Goose Creek CISD Board of Trustees, said during the ribbon-cutting event. “They are learning skills they will use throughout their lives, such as time management and teamwork as they reap the rewards of taking pride in a job well done.”

LAN falls under the umbrella of the LEO A DALY architectural brand.

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BAYTOWN, Texas—Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District’s (GCCISD) recently broke ground on November 18 for its new San Jacinto Elementary School in Baytown, which is located in the Houston metropolitan area.

With a completion date slated for December 2021, the approximately $22.6 million elementary school is one of the major components of the $335 million bond that the district passed in May 2019 to address its rapid growth. Driven by massive growth in southeast Houston, this property-wealthy district is projecting more than 2,250 new students over the next decade.

“The District is very excited to provide the children and families in this community a campus we know they will be proud of. It will also be an anchor in a long-awaited revitalization project for the West Baytown neighborhood,” said Brenda Garcia, director of facilities planning and construction at GCCISD, in a statement.

“Through the collaboration with community members, local businesses and the City of Baytown, the new San Jacinto Elementary School will continue its rich history and legacy.”

Lockwood, Andrews & Newman (LAN) is serving as the program manager for the bond program.

“The groundbreaking of the new San Jacinto Elementary School marks an important achievement toward managing the district’s growth and providing its students the educational needs of the 21st century,” said JP Grom, vice president at Lockwood Andrews & Newnam, Inc., in a statement.

The new campus is located just a few blocks away from the current San Jacinto Elementary, which will be retired. To ensure the campus stayed a neighborhood school, the District worked diligently with surrounding businesses to acquire the land necessary to construct the new school.

Spanning 102,000 square feet, the facility will accommodate 800 students from grades PreK-5. It includes a media center, gym, playgrounds, multiple computer labs per grade level, and an outdoor learning center.

PBK Architects is the architect on this impressive project. Marshall Construction is the general contractor.

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