New Kinder HSPVA nears completion, set to open in January

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Construction on the new Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts is almost complete and scheduled to open at the start of 2019.

Kinder HSPVA’s $88 million project, which is part of the Houston Independent School District’s voter-approved 2012 Bond Program, is scheduled to open to students during first quarter of 2019.

Installation of building technology and system setup is currently underway, with furniture delivery slated to begin next month. Crews are now focused on finishing punch list items and finalizing the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.

“It has everything we wanted, and it’s even more beautiful than I thought it would be,” HSPVA Principal Scott Allen said of the new facility. “The windows, the views, and the natural light are amazing. I think it’s really going to change the atmosphere of the school.”

Located in downtown Houston between Caroline and Austin streets near the city’s renowned arts and theater district, the 168,000-square-foot school includes five stories of classroom and program space, and two levels of underground parking. Other features include a dramatic main entrance with two-story-high glass windows, an 800-seat main theater with a balcony, a secondary studio theater, a black box theater, dance and music studios, and ample practice and performance space.

“I think the new building is going to take our programs to an even higher level,” Allen said. “Our kids have done amazing jobs and been very successful in a space that hasn’t been big enough and maybe didn’t meet the needs of all the programs. Soon they are going to have everything that they need, so I think that they’ll even find more success.”

More than 70 percent of all 2012 Bond projects are complete, and that number is expected to top 80 percent by the end of 2018. Once all projects are finished, HISD will have one of the most modern portfolios of urban high schools in the country.

Follow @Build_HISD on Twitter for the latest construction updates on the 2012 Bond Program and school construction across the district.