High School for Law and Justice construction makes steady progress

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Driving along the Gulf Freeway near the University of Houston, it’s not hard to spot the new High School for Law and Justice, which rises three stories tall and is now about 60 percent complete.

“I love seeing the progress,” said HSLJ Principal Carol Mosteit. “This is going to be a beautiful building that will enhance our law and justice curriculum and provide a wonderful learning environment for students.”

Stakeholders broke ground on the new facility last fall, and workers have been making steady progress ever since. Most exterior walls are now in place, and the building is scheduled to be fully enclosed by mid-July. Work on interior systems and features will then take center stage, with substantial completion scheduled for the first quarter of 2018.

Time-lapse photos of HSLJ construction

The new $40 million campus, which is funded with a combination of bond funds and real estate proceeds, is centrally located just outside of downtown Houston, on Scott Street between Pease and Coyle streets. The building’s close proximity to the Houston Police Department South Central Station will serve as a resource to students in the magnet school’s criminal justice program.

The 115,000-square-feet building will feature a realistic courtroom, crime-scene investigations lab, emergency communications center, and law library. The building also will include spaces for ROTC, athletics, fine arts and other traditional high school spaces.

More information on HSLJ project

HSLJ is among 40 schools, including 29 high schools, being rebuilt or renovated as part of HISD’s 2012 Bond program. Active construction is underway on roughly three dozen campuses across the district. Almost half of the schools in the program will be complete and open to students by the end of this summer. Once all work is finished, the district will boast of one of the most modern portfolios of urban high schools in the country.