Approved by Houston voters in 2012, HISD’s Bond Program will renovate or rebuild 40 schools across the district, and Interim Chief Operating Officer Lenny Schad shared the latest details during the July episode of Up Close with Manuel Rodriguez.
“This summer is shaping up to be a turning point in the bond program,” Rodriguez said, as he opened his show. “Currently, we have more than two dozen schools under construction, and we are set to open six new schools in August.” Continue reading
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Site work at Askew Elementary School is underway with construction of the new building scheduled to begin this fall, according to design and construction plans presented to community members on Tuesday.
Existing temporary buildings are being removed to make room for construction of the new school on the north side of the campus. Crews are preparing to install two temporary classroom buildings on the southwest side of the campus to accommodate students during construction.
“This is the exciting part of the job when everything starts to come to life,” Project Manager Ron Keller said to about 40 people who gathered for an update on plans for the $26.6 million facility, which is part of HISD’s voter-approved 2012 Bond.
Yates High School will hold a groundbreaking ceremony this morning to officially mark the start of construction on the school’s new $59.4 million facility.
Scores of students, staff, alumni, elected officials, and district and community leaders are expected to attend the groundbreaking for Yates, which is among 40 schools across the district being renovated or rebuilt as part of HISD’s voter-approved 2012 Bond Program.
The groundbreaking is being held at 9 a.m. oat the Yates High School campus, 3703 Sampson St.
Construction on the new High School for the Performing and Visual Arts is well underway in downtown Houston, as workers have already excavated 25 feet into the Earth and hauled away roughly 55,000 cubic yards of dirt to make way for the building’s two-level, underground parking garage.
“When the weather was cooperating with us, we were running 40 trucks per day, averaging close to 400 loads per day out of the hole,” said Wesley Moncrief, senior project manager with McCarthy Building Companies, the construction manager at risk on the project. “Dirt removal will be finished in the next few weeks and then we’ll install two large tower cranes.”
Other activities happening this summer are installation of spread footings, the perimeter basement walls, and subsurface drainage. Barring any major impact to the schedule, Moncrief said he expects concrete to be poured for both levels of below-ground parking as well as the main ground floor of the building by the end of 2016.
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Having spent six years in a temporary campus, Principal Angela Lundy-Jackson couldn’t stop smiling as she showed off the new North Houston Early College High School, one of 40 schools being rebuilt or renovated under HISD’s 2012 bond program.
“Everyone is just giddy,” she said. “It’s been a tremendous learning process but now I see the reward.”
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Kashmere High School alumna Janice Wright has fond memories of her experience at the Trinity Gardens area school, where she graduated in 1978.
Now, with a $17 million renovation project about to break ground, she is excited about the future for the campus and the opportunities for future generations of students.
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Worthing High School’s new classroom wing is in the final stages of completion and will open to students for the start of the upcoming school year.
Recently, Worthing Principal Duane Clark led a group of district and community representatives through the new two-story building for a first-hand look at the new facility, which is Phase 1 of a three-phase construction plan.
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Students, staff and community members at Barbara Jordan High School for Careers received an update on the design and construction process for their new school during a community meeting Tuesday night.
Located in northeast Houston, Jordan is receiving $36.6 million for a new facility featuring labs to support its myriad of career training programs. Jordan currently is transitioning from a career magnet school to a regional Career Hub, allowing students to spend half their day at their home school and the other half at Jordan participating in high-demand, career curriculum.
The new facility will provide 600 to 800 students from area high schools with access to real-world experiences in a variety of professions, including auto/diesel, audiovisual, cosmetology, culinary arts, construction management, marketing, STEM (electronics), and welding.
“We want to make this the best career center that we can put forward,” Jordan High School Principal Ross McAlpine said. “With a lot of the input we’ve received from our CTE teachers, community members, business partners, and trips we’ve taken, I think we really have a good school.”
The Texas Medical Center will soon welcome its newest neighbor as construction on the new DeBakey High School for Health Professions moves forward at a steady pace.
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Part of the voter-approved 2012 Bond Program, DeBakey will receive a 198,000-square-foot, five-story facility located on the western side of the Medical Center complex.
The $64.5 million building will accommodate 900 to 1,000 students and feature state-of-the-art medical training equipment with teaching labs for dentistry, rehabilitation, and patient care. Mock hospital rooms and science labs intended to mimic real-world research labs also will be included in the new facility.
Katherine Smith Elementary School students, staff, parents, and community members gathered at the campus Wednesday morning to celebrate the completion of and officially dedicate the third and final phase of the school’s new building addition.
The construction project included a new library and a multi-purpose cafeteria/auditorium space, which also can be used for a gymnasium. Previous segments of the project, which were part of the 2002 and 2007 bond programs, included Phase 1 construction of 26 classrooms and Phase 2 construction of remaining classrooms, ancillary, special education and administrative offices.
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Student leaders welcomed about 75 attendees in the new auditorium, where they kicked-off the dedication with student performances by the K. Smith Choir and the Second Grade Scholars.
“We are so excited to finally see our new school completed,” Katherine Smith fifth grader Reneijah Richardson told the crowd.