Girard Rice Avenue Middle School

Girard School District

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CLIENT GOALS

Girard School District had a problem:  What to do with an aging middle school building, part of which was wood frame, dating back to 1918.  The school, which had been built in four major pieces and already renovated once, no longer supported the educational program, has some security shortcomings, had no air conditioning, and was difficult and expensive to operate.  Construction would occur while the District maintained continuous use of the building for three of the four grades, and everything had to be accomplished within a $17,000,000 total project budget.  Additionally, this is not an affluent school district and the status of state reimbursement was unknown.

SOLUTIONS

After analyzing several alternatives, it was decided to totally renovate all the facility except for the original wood frame structure, which was demolished and replaced.  A detailed construction sequencing plan was developed to maintain continuous occupancy of the building and to not disrupt the educational process and extra-curricular activities.  Utilizing an integrated delivery strategy, the facility was re-designed around the new and proposed educational program and construction planned and accomplished in five phases while maintaining all existing mechanical, electrical, and life safety systems until the new systems could be utilized.  The project was successfully delivered within the $17,000,000 budget.

RESULTS

“In his role as our Construction Manager, Mr. Fox and his firm have been able to provide our School Board with early and accurate cost estimates and schedules, enabling us to effectively plan for the financing of these facilities. All of the projects were done while maintaining ongoing occupancy and use of the existing facilities with successful attention paid to the safety and the functional needs of the District while construction was in process. We are very pleased with Mr. Fox's ability to relate to our Board, our Administrative Staff (both central administration and building administration), our professional staff, our support staff, the students at the facilities and the overall community. We are particularly proud of the methodology used to bid the various elements of the project, resulting in creation of jobs and economic opportunity for local laborers and businesses. All of these projects have been delivered on time and under budget. Mr. Fox and his associates are regarded as honest and fair, working out the inevitable construction challenges with all interested parties. He is extremely knowledgeable about construction procedures and has produced facilities which are both functional and attractive. The combination of experience, knowledge, and personal skills makes us very comfortable in giving him an unqualified recommendation.”

Dr. James Tracy
Former Superintendent

Girard School District